TW ENTY-FIVE Y E A RS 



IN THE 



W E S T . 



y 

BY ERASMUS MANFORD 



CHICAGO: 

B. MANFORD, PUBLISHER. 

1867. 



TO 

MY CHRISTIAN FRIENDS 

m THE WEST, 

WITH WHOM I HAVE LIVED 

AND LABORED MANY YEARS, 
THIS VOLUME 

IS DEDICATED 

. THE &.UTHOR. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Page 9. 
Parentage and Childhood ; " Lord " Timothy Dexter ; At School ; In 
Haverhill ; Shoemaking ; Early Aspirations ; Converted ; Must be 
a Minister ; On a Plank ; Attend School ; A Long Walk ; Studies 
with J. C. Waldo and Dr. Cobb; First Preaching; With W. S. 
Balch ; First Tour ; First Debate ; Came out Second Best ; Talk 
with an Englishman about American Coarseness ; Conversation on 
Slavery; In Maryland; Talk with an Episcopal Clergyman con- 
cerning Endless Woe not being Taught in the Old Testament; 
Traveling and Preaching on the Eastern Shore ; Return to Balti- 
more ; A Storm ; Where Truth Flourishes and Where it Does Not ; 
Another Location; Self and Faith Abused; Preach in Harper's 
Ferry, Charleston, Winchester, Va. ; A Hard Battle; Cross the 
Alleghany Mountains. 

CHAPTER II. 

Page 33. 

In Pittsburg; S. A. Davis, Wife and Daughter ; The West; Preach 
in Pennsylvania and Ohio ; Western Reserve ; Talk with a Bigot ; 
Conversation on a Steamboat ; Forbidden to Preach ; Grave Creek ; 
A Mound ; My Study ; What is Salvation ? Proceedings in Bain- 
bridge ; Mud ; In Cincinnati ; General Harrison ; In Rising Sun ; 
Patriot ; Preach in Louisville, Ky. ; E. M. Pingree ; On the Missis- 
sippi River; Preach in a Steamboat; In New Orleans; Battle 
Ground. 

CHAPTER TIL 

Page 47. 
A Sea Voyage ; A Meeting at Sea ; Tornado ; Strange Vessel ; In 
Texas; Travel to Houston; Hard Fare; The Country; Sleeping 
on the Ground ; Very Thirsty ; Must have Water ; Colorado River ; 
Sound Asleep on its Banks ; Cross the River on Logs ; Corn Cake ; 
A Surprise ; In Houston ; General Houston ; The Attorney-General 
of Texas ; San Jacinto Battle Ground ; A Pandemonium ; Buck 
Wheat Cakes; Embark for New Orleans; A Condemned Vessel ; 
On Allowance.; in New Orleans; A Contrast; Ague and Fever; 
Up the Mississippi. 



4 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Page 55. 

Labors of E. B. Mann ; N. Wadsworth ; Owner of a Horse ; Preach 
in Indiana and Kentucky ; A Profane Life ; General Clarke ; Athe- 
ism; The Eyeless Fish; A Presbyterian Minister's Wisdom; No 
Hell, No Heaven ; Travel in Ohio ; Another Preacher Replies ; La- 
bors in Dayton ; D. R. Biddlecom ; George Messenger ; R. Smith's 
Somersault; J. A. Gurley; George Rogers; Start for Indiana; 
Battle in Harrison ; Universalisrn an Old Doctrine, and of God ; 
Partialism an Old Doctrine, but of Satan ; Grove Meeting ; Father 
St. John: Badly Treated; John O'Kane on his Creed; In Indian- 
apolis ; A. Longley ; A Horse ; Questioned by a Methodist ; In 
Terre Haute ; Very Unpopular. 

CHAPTER V. 

Page 74. 
Journey in Ohio ; Intemperance ; General Baldwin ; In Columbus ; 
Death Penalty ; How to Deal with Offenders ; Preach in Newark 
and Zanesville ; Hell Discussed ; Mrs. Frances D. Gage ; Invited to 
Settle in Marietta ; W. H. Jolly , In Chillicothe ; Opposition in 
Richmond; — . Webber; In Kentucky; Dr. Chamberlin; Opposi- 
tion in Lexington ; Is Universalism Infidelity ? A Slanderous Story 
by a D.D. ; In Paris ; Excursion to Patriot ; A Discussion ; Daniel 
Parker ; Cure the Ague ; Good Health. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Page 8*7. 
A Journey East; Talk with a Baptist Minister; Preach in Dela- 
ware and Centerville, Ohio; W. Y. Emmett; Doors Closed; A. 
Bond; A. B. Grosh; In New England; On the Sea; A Storm; 
Methodist Preacher Frightened ; Blow the Trumpet ; In Philadel- 
phia; In Delaware; In Pittsburg; Return to Cincinnati; Go to 
Chicago ; Bad Roads ; In Richmond ; Talk with a Quaker ; A Spirit 
Returns to Earth; A Spirit Out of the Body; A Strange Sight; 
Preach in God's Temple ; Preach in Chicago ; Preach in Joliet ; 
Aaron Kinney, an Early Preacher ; Bill of Fare ; Hard Luck in 
Magnolia ; Why Preach ; In Hennepin ; Political Humbugs ; Oppo- 
sition in Washington ; Justice of God ; In Pekin and Tremont ; 
Frozen ; A Preacher Replies. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Page 103. 
Located in Lafayette ; The Christian Teacher Commenced ; A Cir- 
cuit; Society Organized; Meeting-house Built; All Alone: Con- 
flict in Frankfort ; Old Testament Doctrine of Punishment ; De- 
bate Proposed in Frankfort; Discussion in Independence ; Charac- 
ter of my Sermons ; Slander Refuted ; Debate in Burlington ; End- 
less Woe; Some Voting; The Use of Discussion 4 A Traveler. 



CONTENTS. 5 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Page 119. 

Debate in Lafayette ; Die in Adam ; Alive in Christ ; This World 
and World to Come ; Battle Ground ; In Monticello ; A Reply; A 
Preacher Whipped; D. Vines; S. Oyler; I. M. Westfall; B. F. 
Foster in Indiana ; Revival Poetry ; Ladoga Camp-Meeting; Wor- 
ship; In Michigan City; An Episcopal Preacher; A Wet Ride; 
Debate in Dayton; Discussion in Jefferson; Everlasting Punish- 
ment ; End of the World ; Second Coming of Christ ; Eternal Life ; 
Meaning of Everlasting. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Page 140. 
Questioned J. O'Kane in Dayton ; He Beat a Retreat ; He Replied in 
Crawfordsville ; Three Resurrections, National, Moral, and Immor- 
tal ; Conversatio'n in West Lebanon ; Everlasting, Forever ; King- 
dom of God ; Sin, Error, Suffering not Endless ; In Southern Indi- 
ana; Why Live a Christian Life? Bigotry in Breckenridge ; Dis- 
cussion with Mr. Dickerson ; Calvinism ; Arminianism ; Universal- 
ism ; Debate in Chambersburg. 

CHAPTER X. 

Page 161. 
Move to Terre Haute ; Lecture in Fort Wayne ; A Discussion There ; 
Dr. Thompson ; Visit Illinois ; Opposition ; Discussion in Charles- 
ton; Prayed For; Called Infidel ; Debate in Green Castle ; Condi- 
tions of Salvation; God's Will; All are Spirits; Form of the 
Teacher Changed ; J. Burt and J. H. Jordan, Editors ; Oliver 
Cromwell ; Foundation of Character ; In Many Places ; A Celebra- 
tion ; Meeting in the Rain ; Fourth of July Celebration ; Debate 
in Martinsville. 

CHAPTER XL 

Page 172. 
Journey into Northern Illinois ; Temperance Lecture ; Result of Tem- 
perate Drinking; Married; Homeward Bound ; High Waters ; Dif- 
ficult Traveling ; Trouble in Crossing Streams ; A Cold Bath ; End 
of the " Bridal Tour " ; A Hard Ride ; Debate with E. Kingsbury; 
In Northern Indiana ; Conversation with an Indian ; Dark Man and 
Dark Night; Explanation of Hebrews ix. 27, 28; End of the 
World ; The Earth and Man. 

CHAPTER XII. 

Page 19-3. 
Discussion in Franklin; Justice of God; What the Gospel Is; Socie- 
ty Organized ; Discourse on Total Depravity ; Conversation with a 
Presbyterian Minister on Christian Rewards ; Talk with a Catholic ; 
A Methodist ; A Presbyterian ; A Campbellite ; Salvation ; A Mor- 



6 CONTENTS. 

mon Sermon ; Reply to It ; A Journey to Louisville and Cincin- 
nati. 

HAPTER XIII. 

Page 213. 

Move to Indianapolis ; Extensive Traveling ; Henry Ward Beecher ; 
A Fossiled Calvinist ; Supposed to be an Orthodox Preacher ; De- 
bate in New Philadelphia ; Strife Between the North and South; 
The Old Convention Dead ; The New Convention Organized ; Dis- 
cussion in Springfield, 111. ; Abraham Lincoln ; God is Love : Is 
Merciful; Is Just ; Is Holy; Travel in Illinois ; Conversation with 
a Presbyterian Clergyman on the Origen of Hell ; In Iowa City, 
and Other Places in Iowa; Home. Again; W. J. Chaplin; Discus- 
sion with Benjamin Franklin; Debate in Covington; Discussion 
with Mr. Russell ; Publish the " One Hundred and Fifty Reasons" ; 
Review of " Universalism Against Itself" ; Publish Another Book; 
Olive Branch Discontinued ; Travel Far and Near. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Page 231. 

Conclude to go to St. Louis; Commence the Golden Era; Associ- 
ation in Crawfordsville ; Debate in Dayton ; Man in God's Image ; 
God the Father of All ; Man Immortal ; Man a Spirit ; High Wa- 
ters ; In St. Louis ; Why Moved to St. Louis ; But Few Friends ; 
First Journey in Missouri; Wet, Hungry, Out in the Cold; In 
Troy ; In Ashley ; Four Brothers ; In Louisiana ; Opposition in 
London; In Hannibal; Good Friends; Questioned in Palmyra 
About Slavery ; Conversation on Judgment ; In Memphis ; <Ques- 
tioned ; A Presbyterian Preacher Replied ; Was to Debate in New- 
ark ; Covered with Ice ; Missouri River ; Discussion in George- 
town ; In Southern Missouri ; Questioned in Warsaw ; In Jefferson 
City ; Hard Work in Danville^ Return to St. Louis. 

CHAPTER XV. 

Page 251. 
The Golden Era Issued Semi-Monthly ; The Missourians; Slave Hold- 
ers; Travel in Southern Missouri; If Endless Woe is True all Na- 
ture would Weep ; Region of Iron ; Dunkards in Millerville ; In 
Southern Illinois ; Philosophy of Christ Being the Savior of the 
World ; Refuse to Debate ; Discussion in Carlyle ; Inspiration ; 
Our Name; Partialism Approaches Infidelity; Three Downward 
Steps ; Reply to a Sermon ; Hayne's Sermon ; Mr. Lewis Debating 
on his Knees ; Written Discussions with two Methodist Ministers ; 
In Northern Missouri; A Preacher Replies; A Log Cabin; Talk 
with a Slave ; Thomas Abbott; Negroes Hung; The Golden Era; 
Mrs. Manford Lecturing ; Let Woman Work ; A Circuit in Missou- 
ri; Travel in Cold Weather ; Debate in Quincy. 



CONTENTS. 7 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Page 211. 
The Golden Era; Extensive Traveling; In Missouri and Kansas; 
Talk with a Deist in Jefferson City ; Moses; The Prophets; Re- 
plied to in Pisgah ; Talk with a Rum-seller ; In Kansas City ; In 
Wyandotte ; Conversation with a Clergyman Concerning Christ 
and his Work ; Lectured in Leavenworth ; Destruction of Man's 
Enemies ; In St. Joseph ; The Mercy of God ; In Kingston ; Rich 
Man and Lazarus. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Page 293. 

The Rebellion Commenced ; What Senator Douglas Said ; Defenders 
of our Country ; Camp Jackson ; Rebel Flag ; Great Expectations ; 
Subscribers Lost ; Money Lost ; All but Two of the Religious Jour- 
nals Stopped ; Could do but Little in Missouri ; Society in St. Lou- 
is; G. S. Weaver Left; The Unitarian Society; Published Pam- 
phlet on Water Baptism ; Discussion with B. H. Smith ; Extracts 
from the Discussion. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Page 315. 

Discussion in Pontiac ; The Apostle's Faith ; His Argument in Ro- 
mans ; Extensive Traveling ; In Kansas and Missouri ; Price's Raid ; 
In Ohio and Indiana; Dark Night and Walk in Toledo; Conversa- 
tion on Destructionism ; The Victory ; The Death ; President Lin- 
coln ; Debate in Milford, Ohio ; The Restitution an old Doctrine ; 
The Sentiment Wide Spread ; At Work in Iowa ; Laborers There ; 
Murderers Saved and the Murdered Lost; Intellectual and Moral 
Growth ; What Man Was ; What He is to Be ; The Victory ; Spir- 
itualism ; Immoral Preaching ; Saved Without Repentance ; Preach- 
ing a Means of Salvation ; A Methodist Minister Believes ; The 
Suicide. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Page 346. 
Last Campaign ; In Galesburg, 111. ; The United States Convention; 
Lombard University ; Other Schools ; Journey to Missouri ; In Ma- 
con City; In Brookfield ; St. Joseph and Other Cities; Grove 
Meeting ; On the Missouri Bottom ; Beautiful Country ; Preach in 
Fillmore and many other Places ; Return Home ; Anti-Orthodox 
Preaching ; Funeral Sermons ; Death ; Life ; Conclusion. 



CHAPTEE I. 



Parentage and Childhood — Lord Timothy Dexter — At School 

In Haverhill — Shoemaking — Early Aspirations — Converted — 
Must be a Minister — On a Plank — Attends School — A Long 
Walk— Studies with J. C. Waldo and Dr. Cobb— First Preach- 
ing—With W. S. Balch— First Tour— First Debate— Comes out 
Second Best — Talk with an Englishman about American Coarse- 
ness — Conversation on Slavery — In Maryland — Talk with an 
Episcopal Clergyman concerning Endless Woe not Being Taught 
in the Old Testament — Traveling and Preaching on the Eastern 
Shore — Returns to Baltimore — A Storm — Where Truth Flour- 
ishes and Where it Does Not — Another Location — Self and 
Faith Abused — Preaches in Harpers Ferry, Charleston, Win- 
chester, Ya. — A Hard Battle — Crosses the Alleghany Moun- 
tains. 

Having been often solicited, by my friends, to pub- 
lish an account of my travels and labors in the West, 
after much hesitation and doubt, I have concluded to 
accede to their wishes. But before doing so, I will 
say a little about my early life. Eewburyport, Mass., 
is my native place. My father, whose full name I 
bear, was from Denmark ; my mother from Amster- 
dam, Holland. I was the first born of a family of 
three boys, one of whom, Frederick, many years since 
passed the way of all the earth. The other, James, 
resides in Texas. My father was a sailor, and was 
lost at sea in a terrific storm, when I was seven years 
old. I have a faint recollection of seeing him two or 
three times, and the only memento I have of him, is 
a large pitcher he had manufactured in Liverpool 
with his name and the picture of a ship on one side, 
and my mother's maiden name and a picture repre- 
senting Liberty, Peace and Independence, on the op- 



10 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS . 

posite side. My mother was left in indigent circum- 
stances, with not a relative in the New World, save 
her three helpless boys. She married some years 
after my father's death, and resided till her death, 
which took place two years since, in Princeton, Mass. 
I have then a father, mother and one brother on the 
other side of the river, and one brother on this side, 
and not many years can elapse ere the whole family 
will be reunited in the land beyond the flood. I well 
remember the spot where all of us once lived, although 
I have not been in Newburyport for thirty years. It 
was on High street, between the Court House and the 
residence of " Lord " Timothy Dexter. To me, that 
street seemed a paradise, and it was, and still is, a 
magnificent thoroughfare. It is on high ground, runs 
parallel with the Merrimac river, overlooks the har- 
bor, and is bordered with rows of grand trees, with 
fine residences embowered in lawns and flower gar- 
dens. In this charming locality, I spent the first de- 
cade of my life. Here I ran, played, and frolicked 
with my brothers, and other little associates. The 
Mall around the Court House, the pond in the rear, 
and a neighboring cemetery, were places of frequent 
resort. On Sunday, I attended Dr. Morse's church, 
where, I am told, I was christened by the good doc- 
tor, who was an Episcopalian. But the bud came 
near being suddenly blasted. An old-fashioned cent 
which I put into my mouth, slipped down my throat, 
and was extracted with much difficulty. I distinctly 
remember the circumstance* "When the copper was 
taken out, blood flowed copiously from my mouth. 
My poor mother was much frightened, and I suffered 
for a short time severely. If my father had lived, I 
should probably have been a sailor. He was first 
mate of the ship in which he made his last and fatal 
voyage, and was to have been promoted to captain on 
his return. I have ever loved the sea, and a ship is 
a thing of beauty in my eye. But it was written 



IN THE WEST. ^ 11 

that the solid earth, not the treacherous deep, should 
be the field of my operations. 

One word about Lord Timothy, just referred to. 
He was a very eccentric man, had many soft spots on 
his head, but knew enough to accumulate a large for- 
tune. He built a magnificent residence, which he 
adorned in a very extravagant manner, with sculp- 
ture and pictures. He was very vain of his house 
and wealth. It is said that a stranger, passing his 
house, was attentively observing it, when Dexter, 
who was sitting at a window, remarked : " Do you 
"not think this is paradise V " I should," replied the 
man, "if I did not see the devil at the window." 
He was dubbed " Lord " for his vanity and ostenta- 
tion, and the title delighted him as much as " Corsi- 
ca" prefixed to Boswell, delighted the well known 
biographer of that name. 

I commenced attending school at an early age, but 
have no pleasant memories of school-hours in my 
native town. My teacher would read a chapter in 
the Bible, and make a long prayer every morning, 
and then whip and pound his pupils till the time for 
his evening devotions. If I escaped a day without 
two or three hard thrashings, I deemed myself very 
fortunate, and I think I was as dutiful as school boys 
generally were of my age. He was doubtless a be- 
liever in total depravity, and was sure that nothing 
but blows and knocks would make a good impression 
on our corrupt hearts. 

From my tenth to my eighteenth year, I resided in 
Haverhill, Mass., with S. George. He was a farmer 
and shoemaker — made shoes in the winter, and tilled 
the soil summers, and I worked on his farm and in 
his shop, except winters, when I attended school. I 
remember my first attempt at horseback riding. I 
went to live with him in the spring, and he soon put 
me on a horse to ride when ploughing corn. The 
beast was contrary and spirited. He would go like 



12 TWENTY-FIVE TEAES 

jehu a few rods, and then stop short, and I would go 
over his head on to the ground. But I was as 
spunky as the horse, and would scramble up, and tell 
Mr. G. to put me on again. I was always eager to 
remount the beast, although he threw me twenty times 
a day. Since then, I have rode over the Western coun- 
try horseback, and consider myself a good horseman. 
I have said I worked in Mr. G-.'s shoe shop ; yes, 
and learned to make cheap shoes, but always despised 
the business, and never more than half learned the 
trade. My aspiration was to be a merchant. Oh, if 
I could only be a merchant how happy I would be ! 
I dreamed, and planned, and built air-castles — would 
weep over my " lapstone," for being doomed to work 
at that hateful trade. When I was about sixteen 
years old, the Boston Trumpet, a Universalist paper, 
published by Thomas "Whittemore, led me to look 
into Uuiversalism, for up to that time I knew nothing 
of its principles or history. Mr. George's family, and 
all my associates, attended the Congregational church 
in the neighborhood, and no body seemed to call in 
question the infallibility of the sermons we heard 
every Sunday. But the Trumpet opened a new 
world to my view, changed all my aspirations, and I 
was really born again. I thought no more of being a 
merchant — that seemed a contemptible calling, — but 
must be & preacher. I devoured the paper, read the 
Bible, and had many hard fought battles with my 
comrades. I loved them, loved the world, and was 
sure, if I could get the ears of mankind, I could con- 
vert all nations and people. The world seemed to be 
a musical instrument, tuning the praises of its 
almighty Author. Thomas Farnsworth was then 
preaching in Haverhill, four miles from where I 
resided, and I called on him several times, and he 
urged me to prepare for the ministry, but I never 
intimated to him that I had such an intention. I 
kept that to myself. 



IN" THE WEST. 13 

I was always fond of reading, and my new faith 
quickened my love for it. I perused religious books, 
romance, history, but poetry was especially my de- 
light. I remember with what enthusiasm I read 
portions of Dr. Young's "Night Thoughts." His 
grand and solemn thoughts and diction stirred my 
soul to its lowest depths. I even wrote what I called 
" poetry," but I' am thankful that none of it survives. 
I have never attempted the " divine art " since those 
early days, although phrenologists tell me I ought to 
be something of a poet, as my " ideality " is large. 

When in Haverhill, I came near losing my life. I 
never could swim, but with a plank three feet long, 
one end pressing against my body, I could paddle far 
from shore into deep water, without any fear. On 
one occasion, when indulging in one of my aque- 
ous excursions, while in deep water, a comrade, who 
was ignorant of my helpless condition when off the 
plank, took it from me, when down I went, but by 
the aid of other boys I reached the shore, and I 
never went into deep water again on my frail craft. 
In my boyhood, I was subject to violent attacks of 
colic and sick headache, but otherwise my health was 
good. My physical frame was small and of fine tex- 
ture, and consequently I was not very strong, and 
could not cope with boys generally of my age in 
athletic exercises. 

When I was eighteen years old, I left old Haver- 
hill, and repaired to Princeton, where I attended 
school one year, and made considerable progress in 
English branches. But my purse being nearly emp- 
ty, I was obliged to replenish it before I could fur- 
ther prosecute my studies ; and having no one to aid 
me, I went to Boston, hoping something would there 
turn up in my favor. I knew no one in that city, 
and no one knew me, and soon became satisfied I had 
better try my fortune elsewhere. I noticed in "a city 
paper, that school teachers were wanted in Eastern 



14 TWENTY-FIVE TEAES 

New York, and I resolved to go there and seek a 
school, although I had only three dollars in my pock- 
et, and it was one hundred and eighty miles to the 
place of destination ; but my empty purse did not pre- 
vent my making the journey. On foot and alone, I 
traveled the whole distance. Although my feet were 
sore, and my bones and muscles ached, I pursued my 
weary march, and finally reached the neighborhood 
of Bethlehem — I think that was the name of the 
place. I found myself in the midst of a German set- 
tlement, with a people of unknown tongue, and of 
manners and customs all new to me. I remained 
there but a few days, became distressingly homesick, 
and resolved to return to Boston. Repaired to Al- 
bany, where I sold my watch to pay traveling expen- 
ses, went on a steamboat to New- York city, and from 
thence to Boston by sea. This was my first tour; 
this was the beginning of my ramblings, but it was 
rather an unpropitious beginning. When I went on 
this school-hunting expedition, my intention was, 
after securing a school, to devote my leisure hours to 
study, and if opportunity offered, to speak occasion- 
ally in public, and thereby prepare myself for what I 
deemed the chief business of my life. But that 
Dutch Bethlehem broke up all my calculations, and I 
returned disgusted, but not discouraged. 

In a few days I walked out to Lynn, the great shoe 
manufacturing town of New England, where nearly 
all the men, women and children are shoemakers, and 
recommenced cobbling, earning enough to defray cur- 
rent expenses, and continued my studies. J. C. Wal- 
do was then pastor of the Universalist church in 
Lynn, and I soon introduced myself to him, and 
made known my intentions of preparing for the min- 
istry, and he kindly offered me the use of his books, 
and such instruction as I might need in prosecuting 
my object. I remained in L. six months, working, 
reading and writing, when Mr. Waldo advised me to 



IN THE WEST. 15 

fo to Maiden, and study with Sylvanus Cobb. To 
[alden I repaired, and made arrangements with Mr. 
C. to reside in his family, and devote all my time to 
study. 

A new era in my life had now opened, and my 
hopes were buoyant. I could give all my time and 
thought to study, and I made the best use of my 
advantages. Mr. Cobb was a prominent man in the 
denomination, an able minister, a fair scholar, and 
consequently well qualified to give instruction. To 
that excellent man, and his accomplished lady, I am 
under great and lasting obligations. "I was a 
stranger and they took me in." May God ever bless 
them. They now reside in Boston. Mr. Cobb, or 
rather, Dr. Cobb, for he is now a D. D., for many 
years published the Christian Freeman, is the author 
of a Commentary on the New Testament, and of sev- 
eral other useful books. His son, Sylvanus Cobb, Jr., 
who is a well known literary writer, was a boy when 
I was in Mr. C.'s family, and the twins, Cyrus and 
Darius, now ministers, and who fought for the Stars 
and Stripes, during the late rebellion, were born 
while I was a member of the household. He had 
three other students while I was with him — A. P. 
Cleverly, G. Hastings, and C. S. Hussey. We had 
fine times; we talked, read, wrote and declaimed. 
When we wanted to ventilate our logic, we repaired 
to a neighboring grove, where we made the welkin 
ring with our eloquence. " The Orthodox," said A. 
P. Cleverly, on one of these occasions, " will come to 
you with their creed in one hand, and damnation in 
the other, and say to you, take this or take that, but 
one of them you must and shall have." On Monday 
we generally went to Boston, two miles distant, and 
at the Trumpet office would usually see Hosea Ballou, 
H. Ballou, 2d, Walter Balfour, Thomas Whittemore, 
Sabastian Streeter, Henry Bacon, T. B. Thayer, all 
noted men, but most of them are now dwellers of the 



16 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

spirit land. The departed did a noble work on earth, 
and long will they be remembered. u Blessed are 
the dead that die in the Lord." 

When I had been with Mr. Cobb about three 
months, he went to the state of Maine, and left me 
to preach for him one Sabbath. My heart jumped 
when the first bell on Sunday morning told me to 
prepare for my first pulpit services ; but I went 
through the exercises of the da}^ without much em- 
barrassment. My texts were: "God is love" — 
" They hated me without a cause." When Mr. 0. 
returned, he seemed well satisfied with my effort, for 
he had heard his friends speak of it, and gave me 
words of encouragement. While with him, I preach- 
ed in Lynn, Haverhill, and several other places, but 
devoted most of my time to hard study. 

After being with Mr. Cobb six months, I put my- 
self under the instruction of William S. Balch, then 
residing in Claremont, N. H., and pastor of the church 
in that place. I found him to be a noble man and 
shall ever remember his many acts of kindness with 
gratitude. Although I was in his family, and receiv- 
ed his instruction most of the time during six months, 
he would receive no compensation. He now resides 
in Galesburg, 111., and although years are pressing 
hard upon him, he is as faithful in the discharge of 
his ministerial duties as when in early manhood. 
When with him, I took my first 'preaching tour, and 
had my first debate. I went up the Connecticut river 
into Canada, and preached in most of the towns on 
both sides of the river. I performed the journey on 
foot, and must have walked about two hundred miles. 
In one town where I had an appointment, a Metho- 
dist minister had one at the same place and hour. 
We both met in the pulpit. He did not wish to 
speak, as he was unwell, he said, and desired me to 
occupy the time. I objected, for I was afraid of him ; 
but as he insisted that I should 20 ahead, I delivered 



IN THE WEST. 17 

my discourse. My text was : " For if the word spoken 
by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and 
disobedience received a just recompense of reward, 
how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation 
which at the first- was spoken by the Lord, and con- 
firmed unto us by them that heard him." Heb. ii. 2, 
3. As soon as I was through, he seemed to be well 
enough, took my text, and made a long reply to my 
feeble effort. He handled me rather rough, but I did 
the best I could in the way of a rejoinder, but felt that 
I had come out second best. It was not manly in him, 
an experienced preacher, to attack a boy as he did ; but 
I suppose he had rather encounter a boy than a man. 

Soon after returning from this journey, I noticed a 
statement by Otis A. Skinner, a minister in Balti- 
more, Md., in one of our denominational papers, that 
several young men were wanted to preach in Mary- 
land, and Mr. Balch advised me to go there. Heed- 
ing his advice, I went by stage across the Green 
Mountains to Albany, thence to New- York. In the 
latter place, I had the following conversation with 
an Englishman, right from his foggy island : 

" I do not like this country," said he. 

" Why not ?" I inquired. 

" I have many reasons. One is, the people are not 
refined enough. I did not encounter as much coarse- 
ness during the thirty years I lived in England, as I 
have in this country the past six months." 

" You have been very unfortunate in the company 
you have kept. There are coarse people in all coun- 
tries, and a man can eat and sleep with them all his 
lifetime if he chooses. But that there are more coarse 
people in this country than in England, I am sure is 
an error. But what do you mean by coarseness ?" 

"I mean that the peasants do not pay proper 
respect to gentlemen." 

" Yes, yes ; I understand you. Why, sir, we have 
wo peasants in this country ; all are gentlemen." 



18 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

" I abhor such a democratic notion. Only see how 
rudely your people talk about the President of the 
United States. He is called Mr. Jackson, Old Jack- 
son, Old Hickory. In Europe, we call the king, His 
Majesty. Don't you see the difference?" 

"I see the difference. The people of this country 
have little respect for titles, and I am thankful for it ; 
but they have great respect for man / so much that 
they deem every man a sovereign ; and I hope they 
will never make such fools of themselves as to single 
out one of their number, perhaps the biggest gump 
in the land, and bow down and worship him, and like 
cringing slaves, call him ' His Majesty.' God only is 
worthy the title of Majesty." 

In the cars near Baltimore, I had some conversa- 
tion with a lawyer, concerning slavery. 

" Are you going South ?" he inquired. 

" To Maryland. Am from the East, and was never 
as far south or west before." 

"As you are going into a slave-holding state, I 
should like to know your views of slavery." 

" In principle I think it is wrong ; but I know lit- 
tle of its practical effects. I shall be better able to 
judge of it practically at some future time." 

" Morally I regard it wrong ; nearly all the South- 
ern people so view it. But that slavery is a benefit 
to the blacks, there can be no doubt. As an evidence 
of this, contrast the condition of the negroes in Africa 
with their condition in the Southern states. In this 
country they are far better off than their brethren are 
in Africa." 

" They doubtless are in some respects, but I am 
not sure that slavery has improved them. Living in 
this country, and associating, to some extent, with a 
superior race, has improved them ; but I cannot admit 
that slavery has done it. You admit slavery to be an 
evil, and we have the best authority for asserting, 
that an evil tree cannot produce good fruit. It seems 



IN THE WEST. 19 

to me that you condemn slavery in principle and 
practice when yon admit it to be an evil. What 
effect do you think it has on the whites ?" 

"Decidedly a beneficial effect. There is more 
refinement and high-toned character in the slave 
states than in the free states. The people in the 
Sooth have leisure to cultivate the better sentiments 
of their nature." 

" I repeat, you must be mistaken. If slavery is a 
upas tree — is an evil as you admit — it cannot produce 
such heavenly fruit. It is not true that the Southern 
people are more intelligent, moral and refined than 
the Eastern people. Statistics, from which there can 
be no appeal, show that there are more school houses, 
academies, colleges and meeting houses in the East, 
than in the South, in proportion to the population. 
There are more persons in Yirginia, the best of the 
slave states, who cannot read or write, than there are 
in six of the most Eastern states. Facts are against 
you." 

I proceeded to Baltimore, and S. P. Skinner, who 
afterwards resided, preached and published the New 
Covenant, in Chicago, advised me to go to the eastern 
shore of Maryland. This portion of the state, and 
part of Delaware, lies between the Chesapeake and 
Delaware bays. Most of this neck of land is level 
and sandy, having been, at a comparatively recent 
period, reclaimed from the sea. Went in a small ves- 
sel to Centerville. While running down, I had some 
conversation, on religious subjects, with an Episcopal 
clergyman. 

" The doctrine of endless punishment is taught in 
the Old Testament," 

" That is your opinion, but some of the wisest and 
most learned men of your school differ from you. I 
will read some extracts from their writings on this 
subject. Your Bishop Warburton, in his Divine Le- 
gation of Moses, says: — 'In the Jewish Republic, 



20 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

both the rewards and punishments promised by heaven 
were temporal only. Such as health, long life, peace, 
plenty, and dominion, etc. Disease, premature death, 
war, famine, want, subjections, and captivity, etc. 
And in no one place in the Mosaic Institutes is there 
the least mention, or any intelligible hint, of the re- 
wards and punishments of another life.' 

" Milman, in his History of the Jews, testifies thus : 
— 'The sanction on which the Hebrew Law was 
founded is extraordinary. The lawgiver (Moses) 
maintains a profound silence on that fundamental 
article, if not of political, at least of religious legisla- 
tion — rewards and punishments in another life. He 
substituted temporal chastisements and temporal bless- 
ings. On the violation of the constitution followed 
inevitably blighted harvests, famine, pestilence, de- 
feat, captivity; on its maintenance, abundance, health, 
fruitfulness, victory, independence. How wonderful- 
ly the event verified the prediction of the inspired 
legislator ! how invaribly apostasy led to adversity — 
repentance and reformation to prosperity !' 

" Dr. Paley, another great man of your church, ad- 
mits the same: — 'This (Mosaic) dispensation dealt in 
temporal rewards and punishments. In the 28th of 
Deuteronomy you find Moses, with prodigious solem- 
nity, pronouncing the blessings and cursings which 
awaited the children of Israel under the dispensation 
to which they were called. And you will observe, 
that these blessings consisted altogether of worldly 
benefits, and these curses of worldly punishments.' 

" Jahn, the best of authority says: — 'We have not 
authority, therefore, decidedly to say, that any other 
motives were held out to the ancient Hebrews to 
pursue good and avoid evil, than those which were 
derived from the rewards and punishments of this 
life.' 

"This is the testimony of able and learned men 
who have made the Bible their life-study. Eotwith- 



IN THE WEST. 21 

standing they believed in eternal woe, they candidly 
admit that it is not taught by the great Lawgiver, 
Moses, or the prophets." 

" They do seem to think that doctrine is not taught 
in the Old Testament, and I admit their judgment is 
entitled to much respect. I will look into the sub- 
ject." 

" I am glad to hear you express such a purpose. 
And I am sure that you will agree with those wise 
men, after a careful examination. If they are cor- 
rect, and the dogma in question is true, is it not amus- 
ing that the Old Testament writers say nothing about 
it ? If they had believed in eternal punishment, they 
surely would have spoken of it in distinct terms, and 
warned their countrymen of their danger. You be- 
lieve in ceaseless woe, and you preach it faithfully, 
earnestly. You are right ; you act according to your 
convictions. And were Moses and the prophets less 
faithful and earnest ? But they did not speak of it, 
and the inference is, they had no faith in the doctrine. 
But, sir, if that dogma is true, would not God have 
forced those inspired men to proclaim it to a dying 
world % Would God have permitted the Jews to be 
ignorant of so important a matter? What! thou- 
sands of immortal spirits daily dropping into a fiery 
gulf, and not a word of warning given ? have no inti- 
mation of such a place till they find themselves in its 
fathomless vortex ? Believe this who can, I cannot." 

I spent six months in this part of Maryland, trav- 
eling and preaching all the time. My head-quarters 
were at Salisbury, and from thence I went east, west, 
north and south, sometimes on foot, and sometimes 
on horseback. The liberal faith I advocated was 
almost totally unknown in that region. O. A. Skin- 
ner, who had resided in Baltimore, once traveled 
through there, and delivered a few discourses, but I 
found not more than a dozen persons, who knew or 
cared any thing about liberal christian sentiments. 



22 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

It was any thing but a favorable field for one so 
young and' inexperienced as I was, to operate in. I 
was tired of traveling, and desired to settle where I 
could devote my time to two or three places, that I 
might have an opportunity to study, for I well knew 
my literary needs, and as such arrangements could 
not be effected in that region, I resolved to try some 
other locality. That my well intended labors had 
much effect, is more than I can affirm, as I have 
heard but little of the religious sentiments of the 
people since I left there. Much of the Eastern Shore 
is a very poor country, and were it not for the fish 
and oysters that abound in Chesapeake bay, part of 
that region would be an uninhabited desert, at least, 
till the soil was improved, for the farmers in those 
days merely scratched over the ground, and exhaust- 
ed it more and more every year. Slave labor and 
scratch culture, I have observed, generally go togeth- 
er. And, I think it is a fact, that poor soil, unless 
there are counteracting causes, such as commerce and 
manufacturing, produces weak heads and sterile 
hearts ; and it is also a fact, that the rich sentiments 
of our faith will not flourish permanently in physical 
or moral deserts. The apostles of our Lord spread 
the gospel among the ignorant and brutal nations of 
the earth, but how soon was it corrupted. Their 
" darkness comprehended it not," and there was soon 
developed a wretched compound of light and dark- 
ness, error and truth, sin and virtue, life and death, 
heaven and hell, and this compound corresponded 
with the intellectual and moral culture of the people. 
Since Luther's day, the process of disintegration has 
been going on, and it will, I trust, continue till the 
dross "shall be all separated from the gold, and the 
former burned with unquenchable fire. 

I returned to Baltimore in December, 1836. En- 
countered a terrific storm on the Bay, which came 
near sending the vessel and all on board to the bot- 



m THE WEST. 23 

torn. It raged during a bitter cold night, the wind 
was directly ahead, and most every wave swept the 
deck fore and aft. The owner was on board, the 
steersman was his negro slave, and he stood to his 
post like a man the whole of that boisterous and cold 
night. In the morning we anchored in a sheltered 
situation, and during the day reached Baltimore. 
Spent several weeks traveling and preaching in the 
vicinity of the city, and from thence went to Hagers- 
town, Md., which I made my home for six months. 
Samuel A. Davis had labored in the vicinity some 
time previous, as a missionary, but receiving little 
encouragement, had moved to Pittsburg, Pa. I 
preached in Hagerstown, Woodville, Frederick, 
Sharpsburg, and many other places, in many of which 
I was the first to proclaim our beautiful faith, and 
encountered all sorts of opposition. Our ministers 
who have always labored where our cause is well 
established, have no idea of the mean and contempti- 
ble opposition a laborer encounters in a new field, 
where hardly any one knows any thing of our faith 
or its history. At the close of a sermon I delivered 
in Frederick, a clergyman of the place, arose and 
poured forth the vials of his wrath. He said Univer- 
salism was the lowest grade of infidelity, that the 
blasphemies of Tom Paine were purity itself com- 
pared to it ; and that Universalists were the scum of 
society, that the grog-shops, gambling dens, jails and 
penitentiaries were full of them. Hosea Ballon and 
"Walter Balfour died drunkards, and they were the 
best men the sect ever had. The fellow overshot the 
mark, and disgusted the people with himself; and the 
mild remarks I made after he got through, turned the 
tide in my favor. Ever after, I had large congrega- 
tions in Frederick. 

I spoke several times in Charleston, Va., where 
John Brown was hung ; also in Harper's Ferry, the 
place he so easily captured, and in "Winchester, where 



24 TWENTY-FIVE TEAES 

several battles, during the late rebellion, were 
fought. In Smithfield, Ya., I had an exciting season. 
Went there an entire stranger, and delivered a dis- 
course iu a school-house, the first sermon on the great 
salvation ever delivered in the place. As soon as I 
said amen, up jumped three men to reply. It was 
with difficulty they agreed on which should first 
speak. They finally settled that matter, and then 
gave me particular attention. Each of them occupied 
about half an hour, and as the night was short, for it 
was an evening meeting, it was midnight when they 
got through. I notified the people that I would 
notice the arguments of the speakers the next even- 
ing. The novelty of my faith, and the attention I 
received from three of the most prominent men of 
the town, caused intense excitement, and the whole 
village, and the region round about, attended the 
next meeting. My three opponents, one doctor and 
two lawyers, were on hand, with paper and pencil, 
which was ominous of another attack. I noticed the 
arguments and proofs of the gentlemen, and replied 
to them in the best way I could. One of them had 
charged me with denying a judgment day. I stated 
that I believed in a judgment day, yea, in many judg- 
ment days. The Bible speaks of numerous judg- 
ment days, but they are all this side of the end of the 
world. When Adam and Eve were condemned and 
driven out of Eden's bowers, it was a judgment day 
to them. When Cain was banished to the land of 
Nod, it was his judgment day. When the wrath of 
heaven burst on the world and destroyed all but 
Noah's family, it was a terrible judgment day. The 
Sodomites experienced the horrors of a judgment day 
when they were destroyed by fire. The ten tribes of 
Israel, when they were banished to the far East, 
never to return, knew something of a day of judg- 
ment. When Babylon, Nineveh, and other mighty 
cities of the old world were destroyed, they suffered 



IN THE WEST. 25 

the desolations of judgment days. When Jerusalem 
was trodden under foot by the Babylonian power, 
and when subsequently it was burned up, ploughed 
up, and drenched with the blood of its citizens, did it 
not suffer, what the sacred writers call, days of 
darkness, of gloom, of judgment ? The world has 
been crowded with judgment days : all nations and 
people have sadly experienced their sorrows. The 
Christian dispensation is also termed a day of judg- 
ment. It commenced when the kingdom of God was 
established on earth by the Son of the Highest, and 
will continue, till Jesus shall return the kingdom to 
God the Father, as recorded in 1st Corinthians 15th 
chapter, when God shall be all in all. It commenced 
amid sin, error, suffering and death, and when it shall 
end those evils will be known no more,, but truth, 
virtue, life and immortality will be the universal and 
everlasting boon of Adam's race. 

As soon as I got through, a lawyer commenced 
reading a long chapter of quotations from the Bible, 
to prove that there was a devil. He had prepared it 
with much care, and read it loud and emphatically. 
It was supposed that a preacher or two in town 
helped him to his texts, and comments. When he 
closed, a doctor commenced an harangue, but I begged 
him to hold on till I had disposed of his brother's 
sermon. I told the people that I believed in many 
devils — lying, slanderous, revengeful, cruel, supersti- 
tious, sectarian devils ; that every man was his own 
devil, and if any of my hearers should become vile 
and degraded, if they would look into a mirror, they 
would see a devil. But I had no faith in the devil 
the lawyer had been preaching about. As soon as I 
had finished my remarks, the doctor resumed his 
speech. He launched into the parable of the Rich 
Man and Lazarus, and did a large amount of special 
pleading, to show that the hell spoken of in that pas- 
sage was a place of eternal woe. When he was 



26 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

through, I asked him if he would answer a few ques- 
tions. He replied that he would. 

"Do you regard that passage to be a literal rela- 
tion of facts V 

"I do." 

"Hell is there called a place. Do you suppose it is 
a place having length, width and height ?" 

"Yes." 

" It is said to contain fire. Do you believe it con- 
tains fire ?" 

" I do, for the passage says so." 

" The rich man and Lazarus were within speaking 
distance of each other — they talked together. Do 
you think that heaven and hell are so near each oth- 
er, that the saved can see the damned, and hear their 
groans and lamentations ?" 

" I am not bound to answer that question." 

"But you promised to answer my questions." 

Several voices — "You must answer" — "You are 
getting into a tight place." 

" Well, if I must answer it, I will say, Yes." 

"One more question. Could you be happy in 
heaven if you should see all the dear ones you now 
love, roasting in hell? Will you answer?" 

"To be candid, I do not see how I could be 
happy." 

" I thank you for your candor. According to your 
interpretation of the passage, and it is the common 
interpretation, heaven and hell, the latter a region of 
quenchless fire, are neighbors, within speaking distance 
of each other, and mankind are to be torn asunder — 
part driven into hell, and part sent to heaven — hus- 
bands and wives divided, parents and children, broth- 
ers and sisters divided, part in heaven and part in 
hell, and those in heaven will know that half of the 
world are in hell, that their near and dear friends are 
there. Now, it is utterly impossible for there to be 
any happiness in heaven, when such a world of woe 



IN THE WEST. 27 

is within sight and hearing. The passage must be a 
parable — figurative language. Jesus often spake in 
parables. It is in connection with several parables, 
and like them is figurative. But I have not time this 
evening to give an explanation of it, but on to-mor- 
row, Sunday, at eleven o'cLock, will give what I 
regard to be the true exposition of that important pas- 
sage." 

The discussion had a sensible effect on the hearers ; 
some rejoiced and some were mad. One old gentle- 
man, with streaming eyes, thanked me for what he 
had heard. But others were so enraged, that some 
of my friends feared that violent hands would be laid 
on me, ere I should reach the hotel, and I heard sev- 
eral cry, " Search his saddle-bags ! he is a d d 

abolitionist ! get a rail !" 

The next day my meeting was in a grove, for no 
house, that could be obtained, would hold half of the 
people who came out. My youth, the novelty of my 
faith, and the controversy, drew an immense con- 
course. The people listened with attention and 
respect, and the meeting was not disturbed by any 
opposition. I went to the village a stranger to all, 
but when I left, which was the next day, I had many 
friends. 

I often preached in Harpers Ferry, and generally 
had large congregations. The town site, and its sur- 
roundings, are well known to be remarkably pic- 
turesque. The Shenandoah and Potomac, rapid 
streams, here unite, and roar and plunge through 
the chasm they have made through the Blue Ridge. 
The rocks on both sides are several hundred feet 
high, and nearly perpendicular. Thomas Jefferson 
said it was worth a voyage across the Atlantic to see 
this wonderful work of nature. 

Near Hagerstown, I had a little controversy with a 
Campbellite preacher. We both had an appointment 
in a barn, and the people were eager to hear both of 



28 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

us speak. He delivered a discourse on Ms peculiar 
views — dwelt long on the importance of water bap- 
tism, which he affirmed was a condition of salvation. 
In my discourse, I paid particular attention to his 
water-cure notions, and showed that if he was correct, 
none could -be saved without being baptized in water, 
and therefore most of mankind would be lost forever, 
as but a small portion of our race are immersed. In 
his reply he said he did not believe in endless misery, 
but in annihilation, and admitted that he had no evi- 
dence of the salvation of a soul, old or young, in a 
christian or a heathen land, without water baptism. 
What a gospel ! I rejoined. Instead of bringing life 
and immortality to light, it proclaims eternal death 
to nearly the whole world ; instead of being good 
news to our race, it is a howl of everlasting despair ; 
instead of being a blessing to the world, it is an un- 
mitigated curse ; instead of its proclaiming that God 
is the loving Father of mankind, it announces that 
He is full of partiality and hatred towards most of his 
creatures. Never again prostitute that blessed word, 
gospel, by calling your partial, cruel and revengeful 
system by that clear name. There is not as much 
gospel in your creed as there is brain in a musquito's 
head. 

One evening, I accompanied a friend to a Metho- 
dist meeting ; the congregation was large, and a " re- 
vival " was raging in its midst. The first speaker 
spoke well and sensibly, but his words fell on dull 
ears and cold hearts. The second speaker was a reg- 
ular son of thunder, and he did thunder, and storm, 
and quake, and he made some of his hearers do the 
same. When he got through with his " exhortation," 
he kneeled and said, "Let us pray." He prayed, 
and half of the assembly prayed with him. He 
raised his voice, and they raised theirs ; he screamed 
like a maniac, and they did the same; he jumped up 
and down, and they jumped .up and down. I looked 



EST THE WEST. 29 

on with utter amazement, having never witnessed 
such a scene before. As soon as he. had finished this 
part of the performance, he told all to rise to their 
feet, who wanted to go to heaven. I was the only 
one who did not stand up. " Ris,e to your feet," said 
he, " or you will be damned." I kept my seat, and 
though strongly tempted to rebuke him, I said noth- 
ing. 

Near Charleston, Ya., I attended, for the first time, 
a Methodist camp-meeting, and have not since been 
anxious to renew my acquaintance with such gather- 
ings. It was held in a beautiful grove, and there 
were present some two thousand people, black and 
white. During the services, the whites were seated 

front of the speaker's stand, and the negroes in its 
rear. The speakers would talk awhile to their white 
brethren, and then turn on their heels and give the 
black brethren a broadside, and the latter always 
responded to the condescension of the preachers with 
a hearty shout. The night was the hour of promise ; 
then they were almost sure of being blessed with 
copious showers of " grace." Sunlight, it seems, is 
not favorable to its descent ; it comes more plentifully 
with moonshine. The night I was on the ground, 
there were all sorts of manifestations of the " spirit." 
Some laughed, others cried, groaned, and threw 
themselves on the ground. I noticed one poor fellow 
trying to climb a tree, and I asked him where he 
was going. "To heaven," said he, and he kept 
scratching the tree with his finger and toe nails, for 
he was bare-footed. The preachers and the hearers 
generally, seemed to think all that hopping, jumping, 
shouting and screaming, was the work of God in con- 
verting the souls of the people. Every good thing 
can be abused, and thus become an evil. Religious 
excitement, when kept within due bounds, is product- 
ive of much good, but when it overleaps all bounds, 
and becomes temporary insanity, as it did on this 



30 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

occasion, it is prostituted to a very ' bad purpose. I 
spent a short time in the "preacher's tent" where 
the folio-wing conversation ensned : 

" John "Wesley was opposed to such excitement as 
you have here." 

" You are mistaken," replied the Presiding Elder; 
" that man of God was in favor of it, for he knew it 
was the work of the spirit of God, and I warn you to 
flee from the wrath to come, before it shall be eter- 
nally too late." 

" Do not get excited, my friend. Let us see what 
Wesley says about what you call the work of the 
Holy Spirit. In one of his volumes he speaks of the 
doings of Satan thus : — ' Satan strives to push many 
of them to extravagance. This appears in several 
instances : 

' 1. Frequently three or four, yea, ten or twelve, 
pray aloud together. 

i 2. Some of them, perhaps, may scream altogether, 
as loud as they can. 

„ ' 3. Some of them use improper, yea, indecent ex- 
pression in prayer. 

' Several drop down as dead, and are as stiff as a 
corpse ; but in a while they start up and cry, ' glory, 
glory !' perhaps twenty times together. Just so do 
the French prophets, and very lately the Jumpers in 
Wales, bringing the real work into contempt. 

' Scream no more at the peril of your soul. God 
now warns you by me. I never scream, I never 
strain myself; I dare not, I know it would be a sin 
against God and my own soul ! 

' Some very unstill sisters, who always took care to 
stand near me, and tried who could cry loudest, since 
I have had them removed out of my sight, they have 
been as quiet as lambs. The first night I preached 
here, one half of my words were lost through the 
noise of their outcries ; last night, before I began, I 
gave public notice that whosoever cried as to drown 



IN THE WEST. 31 

my voice, should, without man's hurting or judging 
them, be gently carried to the farthest corner of the 
room, but my porters had no employment the whole 
night. 

* There is a fervor which has passed for devotion, 
but it is not true, not scriptural devotion. It is loud 
shouting,, horrid, unnatural screaming, repeating the 
same words twenty of thirty times, jumping two or 
three feet high, throwing about the arms and legs, 
both men and women, in a manner shocking not only 
to religion, but to common decency. 

c I dislike, 

1 1. Speaking or praying of several at once. 

4 2. Praying to the Son of God only, or more than 
to the Father. 

< 3. The use of improper expressions in prayer. 
' 4, The using poor, flat, bald hymns. 

' 5. Those never kneeling in prayer. (They sat on 
the floor.) 

' 6. Your using postures or gestures highly indecent. 

i 7. Your screaming, so as to make the words unin- 
telligible. 

' 8. Your affirming people will be justified or sanc- 
tified just now. 

' 9. The affirming they are where they are not. 

< 10. The bidding them, ' I believe.' 

'11. The bitterly condemning any that oppose, 
calling them wolves, etc., and pronouncing them hyp- 
ocrites, or not justified !' 

"These are Wesley's words, and you have been 
doing here nearly all he so severely rebukes. What 
you call the work of God, he calls the work of 
Satan." 

" Let us pray," said the Elder, with an awful groan. 
And such a prayer ! It was not praying, but rather 
the ravings of a mad man, and the crowd raved with 
him. He called me the devil, and said I had slander- 
ed the sainted Wesley, and had come there to stop 



32 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

the work of God. He beseeclied the Lord, either to 
convert rny soul or send me to hell. When he was 
through, I told him that his performance was more 
like the ravings of a maniac, than the simple prayer 
of a Christian, and bid him good by. 

After spending six months in this region, traveling 
and preaching constantly, and seeing but slim pros- 
pect for establishing our cause permanently there, 
and receiving hardly any compensation for all my 
hard labor, and many privations, I resolved to go to 
Pittsburg, Pa. The truth is, I was much discour- 
aged. I had labored one year in Maryland, and 
found but few sympathizers with me or my faith, and 
had not received fifty dollars for all my toil. I was 
tired of traveling, and longed for an abiding place 
where I could preach without being constantly on the 
wing, and where I could pursue my studies. I was 
not avaricious, but thought, as I devoted all my time 
to the ministry, I ought to be comfortably supported. 
I regretted having come to the state, and certainly 
should not have been there, had I known the relig- 
ious character of the people, and how few friends we 
had in that region. 



IN THE WEST. 33 



CHAPTER II. 



In Pittsburg — S. A. Davis* Wipe and Daughter — The West — 
Preaches in Pennsylvania and Ohio — Western Reserve — Talk 
with a Bigot — Conversation on a Steamboat — Forbidden to 
Preach — Grave Creek — A Mound-t-My Study — What is Salva- 
tion? — Proceedings in Bainbridge — Mud — In Cincinnati — Gen- 
eral Harrison — In Rising Sun, Patriot — Preaches in Louis- 
ville, Ky. — E. M. Pingree — On the Mississippi River — Preaches 
in a Steamboat — In New Orleans — Battle Ground. 

I went to Pittsburg by stage, stopped at several 
places on the road, and delivered my message. Ar- 
riving in that city, I became acquainted with S. A. 
Davis, pastor of the church there, and publisher of 
the Glad Tidings, a paper devoted to the good cause. 
His church was numerically feeble, for liberal princi- 
ples had just begun to take root in that city as in the 
west generally. Mr. Davis worked hard in the 
double capacity of pastor and editor. He was a 
pleasant speaker, fair writer, and a very excellent 
man. His wife, who long since went to the better 
world, possessed much talent, and wrote clever arti- 
cles for the Glad Tidings. He now resides in the 
East, and is still in the Master's service. His daugh- 
ter, Minnie Davis, is one of the best female writers in 
the denomination. She has written several excellent 
books, and contributes liberally to our periodical liter- 
ature. 

I had crossed the mountain barrier between the 
East and the "West, and was then in the Mississippi 
Yalley — merely though on its border. Its hills and 
vales, its forests and prairies, its rivers and lakes, 
were all before me towards the setting sun. Com- 
pare the West then to the "West now. Never since 



34 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

earth's foundation was laid, lias any country exhibited 
such rapid progress in so few years. The West has 
made a thousand years growth in twenty-five years. 
And is it destined to continue to grow at that rate ? 
The signs of the times indicate that it is even so. 
The most vivid imagination can form but a faint con- 
ception of the future greatness of the West. Colum- 
bus, romantic and extravagant as were his visions, 
could not have dreamed of half the glory of the 
future West. Here fiction has already become fact, 
and dreams realities. 

I effected arrangements to travel and preach in 
Pennsylvania and Ohio, for I soon learned that our 
friends were few in the West, and that I should have 
to travel extensively. I submitted to my fate and 
went to work. Yisited several places in Pennsylva- 
nia, but meeting with little encouragement, I passed 
into Ohio, where I found more friends. Preached in 
many places in the Western Reserve, generally had 
large congregations, and found many devoted believ- 
ers in the Great Salvation. A large portion of the 
population of the Reserve were from the Eastern 
states, and they brought industrious habits, correct 
moral principles, and liberal religious sentiments with 
them — the right kind of soil for Universalism to 
grow in. But where wheat grows, there grows chaff, 
and I encountered some intolerable bigotry in that 
region. In Ashtabula a vinegar-faced gentleman ac- 
costed me thus : 

" I understand you are a Universalist preacher." 

"You have been correctly informed. Universal- 
ism is only another name for the gospel. ' A rose,' 
you know, 'by any other name would smell as 
sweet.' " 

u Sweet ! Universalism the gospel ! It is neither 
sweet nor the gospel. It is a loathsome spawn from 
hell, the meanest of all the devil's mean works, and 
you ought' not to be allowed to teach it to immortal 



IN THE WEST. 35 

souls. I would put a stop to such preaching had I 
the power. 5 ' 

" Yery likely you would, for you look like a villain. 
The mark of the beast is on you, and you would, 
doubtless, like to be about your master's business. 
The world has been cursed a long time with the spirit 
you possess, and with men of your character, and that 
spirit, and that breed are not yet dead. Bigots and 
hypocrites like you, nailed the Savior of man to the 
cross, stoned Stephen, murdered the apostles, and 
crucified, burnt, hung, beheaded, and quartered, the 
saints of God in all ages." 

" If I believed as you do, I would take my fill of 
sin." 

" You are full of sin now.'* 

" What do you preach for ?" 

" To reform such men as you. You may think you 
are a Christian of the first water, but you know noth- 
ing about Christianity. The name of its Author is 
Love, and Christianity corresponds, letter and spirit, 
with that blessed word. But what do you know 
about love? and what does your fiery creed know 
about love? But you know what hate means, and 
you would pursue all with fire and sword who do not 
kneel at your shrine. I pray God that you may be 
converted, that you may know the meaning of love, 
mercy, goodness, justice, know that they do not signi- 
fy hatred, cruelty, vengeance, and that God is served 
when we obey the law of love, not when we hate and 
devour each other." 

On board of a steamboat, on the Ohio river, I par- 
ticipated in the following conversation : 

" I am free to acknowledge, that I cannot reconcile 
endless misery with the goodness of God, and yet I 
have to believe in that doctrine." 

" Others have admitted the same. The celebrated 
Dr. Samuel Johnson, the great moralist of the last 
century, admitted that God cannot be infinitely good 



36 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

to the victims of ceaseless woe — so Boswejl tells us. 
We judge of a person's character by his works. If 
his works are evil, we infer his character is evil ; if 
his works are good, we infer that his character is 
good. We are safe in judging of God's character by 
the same criterion. If he has built an everlasting 
hell, and will consign his own offspring to its dismal 
vaults, to be the victims of Almighty wrath, world 
without end, and all for the errors of a day, it is, 
utterly impossible for Him to be good, much less, 
infinitely good. Goodness seeks the welfare, not the 
ruin, of the subjects of its power." 

" But your argument, if it is sound, proves, that 
God is not infinitely good, for the world is full of 
misery. All, the old and the young, the good and 
the bad, suffer." 

"True, there is much suffering beneath the sun, 
but I think it can be reconciled with the goodness of 
the Creator. Consider, first, how short is our stay on 
earth. Some are here a few' hours, others a few days, 
and none but a few years. Suppose there were noth- 
ing in this world but suffering, but if an eternity of 
bliss awaits us on the other side of the river, all the 
sufferings of earth would afford no evidence that God 
is not good. For every tear, every sigh, every woe, 
we should have millions of ages of happiness. But 
with very few exceptions, if there are any, all in this 
world, enjoy far more than they suffer. There are 
more muscles in the face for laughing than for weep- 
ing, which proves that it is the will of our Creator 
that there should be more happiness in our cup than 
sorrow. As there is more sunshine than storm, so 
more joy than grief falls to the lot of mortals. But 
this should also be considered, most of the suffering 
men endure, they bring on themselves by their ignor- 
ance or willfulness. This is a beautiful world, a gar- 
den of Eden, and if we observe the laws of the Crea- 
tor, taste not of the forbidden fruit, but partake only 



IN THE WEST. 37 

of fruit from the tree of life, there would be but little 
suffering in this world." 

" But we are informed, that man was forbidden to 
partake of the tree of life." 

" Adam and Eve were forbidden while they were 
unrepentant and sinful, and so are all while they pos- 
sess such a character. We cannot serve God and 
Baal. If we serve the one we despise the other. 
We cannot possess a sinful character, and a virtuous 
character, cannot partake of the tree of evil and 
of good at the same time. We are driven from the 
one when we partake of the other. But if we flee 
from the deadly shades of the upas, touch not, taste 
not, handle not its poisonous fruit, the tree of life will 
be accessible to us. We are told that the leaves of 
the tree are for the healing of the nations, (Rev. xxii. 
2,) showing, that it is now within our reach. Yes, if 
we approach it with pure motives, clean hands, and 
reverent steps, we can, even now, pluck its fruit and 
live. But a flaming sword prevents access to it while 
we are morally low, debased, groveling." 

" That is a new view of the subject ; I will think 
about it." 

" As all suffering in this world is of short duration, 
and as we voluntary bring most we do suffer on our- 
selves, and as we have reason to trust it will all, by 
our Heavenly Father, be overruled for good, and be 
succeeded by an eternity of blessedness, I cannot 
see that the few tears, and aches of this brief life 
militate against the goodness of the Creator. I am 
sure, when we shall have passed through the strifes 
and conflicts of this world, and can see the past in 
the light of their results, in the light of eternity, we 
we will exclaim, ' Love and mercy pursued us all the 
days of our lives.' But misery without mitigation or 
end, without one ray of hope, nothing but an eternity 
of gloom, and the most intense agony, can never be 
reconciled with infinite goodness." 



38 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

A few miles below. Pittsburg, in Virginia — I now 
forget the name of the place — I stopped one Satur- 
day evening, and told the people I would speak to 
them the next day, if they would give me a hearing. 
A citizen invited me to his house, and I delivered a 
discourse on Sunday morning, to a large assembly. 
In the middle of the afternoon, some ten or a dozen 
persons entered the house where I was stopping, and 
after being seated, the following ensued : 

"Are you the man who preached in the school 
house this morning?" 

"Yes." 

" "Well, we have called to let you know that you 
must not hold another meeting in this town." 

" Why not? "What is the matter, gentlemen ?" 

" Tour doctrine is dangerous ; it is infidelity, and 
we want no more of it." 

" Did any of yon hear my discourse to-day ?" 

" No, and we don't want to hear such stuff." 

" How then do you know it is dangerous and infi- 
del?" 

" We are not here to have a controversy with you, 
but to notify you that you cannot occupy the school 
house this evening." 

My host here informed the gentlemen, that he had 
an interest in that house, and that I should preach in 
it if I desired to. " This gentleman," said he, " is a 
stranger in this place ; I heard his sermon in the 
morning, and although I know nothing about Univer- 
salism, he uttered not a word I consider dangerous or 
infidel." 

"When you reflect," I remarked, "on the mean 
business you are here on, you will be heartily asham- 
ed of yourselves, and your conduct. You admit you 
did not hear me, and yet you are loud and angry in 
your condemnation. I am a stranger in this place, 
and to you ; I have never harmed a hair of your 
heads, and yet you treat me with savage rudeness. 



IN THE WEST. 39 

Is this Virginia hospitality ? "What do yon suppose 
I teach ?" 

" We understand you teach, that there is no God, 
no Savior, no hell, and that the good and the bad, go 
to heaven together." 

" You have been misinformed. My advice to you 
is, to acquaint yourselves with the principles you so 
rudely condemn, for you are as ignorant of them as 
the Hottentots are of English grammar." 

" We have no more to say to you, except to repeat, 
that you must not again preach your abominations in 
this town." 

"I expect. to hold a meeting in town this evening, 
and hope you will attend, and learn something of the 
gospel of Jesus." 

Exit the inquisitors. 

I held a meeting according to appointment, but 
that company of bigots kept out of the way. They 
found, however, they could neither rule me or the 
town, for I had a much larger congregation after 
their visit than before. Lectured in Wells ville, and 
a Methodist minister replied in a good natured man- 
ner, and we parted in friendship. Proceeded down 
the Ohio river to Wheeling, where I lectured several 
times, in a Baptist meeting-house, and then went to 
Graves Creek, on the Virginia side of the river, and 
there spent two weeks, speaking most every day in 
town or country. 0. G. Cox resided there, and 
preached occasionally. My sojourn in this place is a 
green spot in my memory, for I found some excellent 
friends, which was really cheering after meeting with 
so much opposition. 

There is an artificial mound here, some eighty feet 
high, of a conic shape, and very steep. When, or by 
whom it was made, whether by the Indians, or a race 
who preceded them, is unknown, and the mystery 
will probably never be solved. A few years since a 
shaft was extended through the base of the mound, 



40 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

and a broken arch and some human bones were found 
in the center, indicating that it was a monumental 
structure. 

A great portion of my traveling at this period was 
on foot. I often walked twenty or twenty-five miles 
in a day, and delivered a long discourse at night. 
Traveling in this hard way, and preaching most every 
day, I had but little time to read or write. When a 
traveler asked Wordsworth's servant, to show him his 
master's study, he answered, "Here is his library, 
but his study is out of doors." So, like him, my 
study was out of doors. The Bible was my constant 
companion, and the portions of it that most interested 
me, were the Eew Testament, the Psalms, the book 
of Job, the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. When weary, 
I would sit by the wayside, and study the Book of 
Life, and on resuming my march, would reflect on 
what I had read, or arrange a sermon. My dis- 
courses were seldom written, neither were they whol- 
ly extemporaneous, for I often repeated portions of 
them. 

I journeyed to Steubenville, Ohio, where I spoke 
twice; then to Marietta, and from thence to Chilli- 
cothe, as I was then bound for Cincinnati. In Chilli- 
cothe, I remained a week, and lectured four times. 
While in this place, I had the following conversation 
with a Presbyterian clergyman : 

"What do you mean by salvation?" 

" I mean, deliverance from evil tendencies, thoughts, 
habits, purposes, and all of their long train of results. 
This is a perfect salvation. It can be only partially 
enjoyed in this world, at best; it will require the 
grace, light and wisdom of eternity to perfect the 
work. It may be commenced here, but cannot be 
consummated in this lower world. And this is what 
the New Testament means by salvation. ' Thou 
shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people 
from their sins? Matt. i. 21. ' Behold the Lamb of 



IN" THE WEST. 41 

God, who taketh away the sin of the world.' John i. 
28. ' Unto yon h'rjst, God having raised up his Son 
Jesns, sent him to bless yon, in turning every one of 
yon from his iniquities? Acts iii. 25. ' There shall 
come out of Zion the deliverer, who shall turn away 
ungodliness from Jacob ; for this is the covenant nnto 
them, when I shall take away their sins? Rom. xi. 
27. ' There is no condemnation to them that are in 
Christ Jesns.' Rom. viii. 1. ' Who gave himself for 
us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and 
purify unto himself a people zealous of good works.' 
Titus ii. 14. i Because the' creature [meaning man- 
kind] shall be delivered from the bondage of corrup- 
tion into the glorious liberty of the children of God.' 
Rom. viii. 21. These scriptures clearly teach what is 
gospel salvation. The recipients of it are liberated 
from the bondage of sin and error; the 'chains of 
darkness ' are broken, and they enjoy a glorious lib- 
erty, a glorious deliveration, a glorious salvation." 

" True, that is salvation ; but the Bible also speaks 
of salvation from hell? 

" The only passage in the Bible where deliverance 
from hell is spoken of reads thus : — Tor great is thy 
mercy towards me ; and thou hast delivered my soul 
from the lowest hell? Psalms lxvi. 13. Here is hell, 
the lowest hell, and the writer speaks of salvation 
from it ; but this hell is on earth, and the deliverance 
is a present deliverance. David had sinned, and he 
expressed his sins and their consequences by 'the 
term, hell; but he repented, reformed,. obtained for- 
giveness, and was delivered from the lowest hell into 
which he had been plunged. And it was the mission 
of Jesus to save the world from just such a hell, and 
from no other." 

" But the Bible speaks of salvation from hell in the 
future world — an endless hell." 

a The Scriptures no where locate hell in the im- 
mortal world. It is a condition of moral corruption, 



42 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

and, the world knows by sad experience, that condition 
is experienced in this life. The terms, " eternal hell," 
" everlasting hell," " endless hell," do not once occnr 
in the good book. But if gospel salvation is deliver- 
ance from such a wretched place, it is remarkable that 
the sacred writers say nothing about it. The truth is, 
God never made such a horrible place as theologians 
denominate hell, and consequently nobody is exposed 
to its fiery surges, and all this talk about salvation 
from it, is simply idle talk. But men do cherish evil 
thoughts, purposes, habits, and the salvation the Bi- 
ble contemplates is deliverance from those real evils. 
Here is a trinity of evils, and to sever them from our 
souls and from our life ; to purify our thoughts, cor- 
rect our habits, and rightly direct our purposes, 
should be the end and aim of life. But to spend 
life's golden moments, trying to dodge imaginary 
evils, evils which exist only in our creeds, and there- 
by make ourselves miserable, is foolish, is suicidal. 
The only hell we need fear is within our own souls, 
not without, and away in yonder world ; and if half 
the effort was made to save the world from that hell, 
that is made to save it from imaginary torments be- 
yond the grave, much more would be accomplished 
for humanity." 

Proceeded to Bainbridge, where I spent several 
clays, and delivered four sermons to an excited peo- 
ple. The doctrine of the Restitution was hardly 
known there, even by name, but all classes attended 
my meetings to hear the youthful speaker, and to 
learn something of his strange doctrine. Some were 
mad and some were glad. One minister treated me 
very kindly, and assisted several times in the services, 
but another was boiling over with rage, but he heard 
me through. At the close of the second discourse, he 
jumped to his feet, and told the people that the speak- 
er believed in no hell or devil, and for my part, he 
added, I would as soon deny that there is a God or a 



IN THE WEST. 43 

heaven. I kindly informed him that he was mis- 
taken, that he had not understood me ; that I believed 
in all the hells and devils the Bible speaks of, and no 
more ; that possibly we might differ relative to the 
Bible meaning of those subjects, and that it was very 
uncharitable to assert that 1 denied the Bible because 
I differed from him in understanding it. Doing that 
is not denying the Bible, but simply differing from 
the gentleman. He then dashed into Revelation to 
prove that the devil was a huge monster, almost 
equal to the Almighty, had his throne in the infernal 
regions, where he reigned, " monarch of all he sur- 
veyed," and that his eagle eye, from the center of 
hell, beheld this earth and all therein, and he not only 
attended to his infernal duties at home, but was con- 
stantly besieging every man, woman and child of 
earth, and never forsook a soul till it was fairly within 
the gates of the New Jerusalem. I replied, that there 
was this difference between the speaker and myself — 
he was a Pagan and I was a Christian; I believed 
in one God, and he, at least, in two — the God of 
heaven, and the god of hell. And I exhorted him to 
abandon his Paganism and embrace Christianity. 
He cooled down some, and at the close of the meet- 
ing gave me his hand. I entered Bainbridge a total 
stranger, and departed from it with the blessings of 
many. 

I went to Cincinnati by stage, and oh, what roads ! 
There were no railroads then, not even turnpikes. It 
was mud, mud, mud, nothing but mud ; stiff, black, 
deep mud. I forget how many times the stage broke 
down, how many horses were killed, or how many 
times all hands had to get out into the ocean of mud, 
and pry the stage out of the mud. But I do remem- 
ber, that when we reached Cincinnati, the horses, 
driver, stage and passengers, were covered with rich 
Buckeye mud. Mr. West was then preaching in the 
Queen city,, in a small house, on Walnut street, and 



44 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

Mr. Tizard and George Rogers were publishing the 
Star in the West. Cincinnati then contained only 
twenty-five thousand inhabitants, but now its popula- 
tion is fully two hundred thousand. Still, it was then 
the city of the West. St. Louis and Chicago were 
then mere villages, now each of them is equal to 
Cincinnati in population. Surely, western cities are 
great growers. Preached several times in C, and 
made many pleasant acquaintances. I was urged to 
remain and labor in the vicinity, but I had resolved 
to go South, and no persuasion could change my pur- 
pose. I had to learn my mistake by experience. 

I went on foot, down the Ohio river. Stopped at 
North Bend, saw General Harrison, who then resided 
there, and spent several hours in his company. He 
was very kind and social. He told me he had 
thought much about religion, believed in its reality 
and usefulness, that he could not subscribe to the 
eternity of punishment, but did not know about the 
salvation of all ; but added the General, " I believe 
God is just, wise, good and merciful, and that all will 
end well, but what that end is to be I know not. I 
must wait for the developments of the great teacher 
— death." Soon after, he was elected "President of 
the United States. I saw him several times during 
the presidential campaign ; heard him make his Hay- 
ton speech to congregated thousands, and read with 
tearful eyes, the announcement of his death, one 
short month after his inauguration, and have since 
lingered around his grave, on the banks of the Ohio. 

I next went to Rising Sun, Ind., where I preached 
every day for a week. This was my first advent into 
Indiana. Since then, I have traveled through its 
length and its breadth, and preached in nearly every 
town within its borders. Much interest was mani- 
fested in the meetings at Rising Sun, and large con- 
gregations attended. One man, I was informed, a 
member of some orthodox church, who attended one 



IN THE WEST. 45 

of the meetings, became so excited, during the service, 
that he ate all the tobacco he could find in his pock- 
ets — three large plugs. Since then, a society has 
been organized there, and a church built. Perhaps 
the good seed sown then, in after years yielded some 
fruit. Seven miles down the river is Patriot, where 
I stopped ten days, and delivered five discourses. 
The principal families of the place were of the liberal 
faith, excellent people, and practical Christians. 
They loved the truth, loved to talk about it, and 
loved to attend the services of the sanctuary. That 
place was an oasis in the desert — no controversy, no 
denunciation, but peace, love and harmony reigned. 
A fine meeting-house was built soon after I was 
there, and the society prospered for several years. 
But pecuniary misfortunes overtaking some of the 
leading members, and the business of the town dimin- 
ishing, nearly broke up the society. After a pleasant 
sojourn with the Patriot friends, I went to Louisville, 
Ky., where I preached several times in a large hall. 
I had not been in Kentucky before, but since then 
have traveled extensively in that state. In this city, 
E. M. Pingree lived, studied, labored and died. He 
died young, in the midst of usefulness, loved and 
honored by all who knew him. He was a strong 
man, gathered many friends around him, and built 
up what seemed to be a permanent society, but it did 
not prosper long after his death, and is now extinct. 
Gad Chapin was in L. on my first visit, and is there 
still — a patriarch in our Israel. 

At Louisville I took passage on the steamer " Com- 
mercial" for New Orleans, fifteen hundred miles 
down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Nothing of 
much interest occurred on the voyage. I delivered 
three discourses, at the request of the captain and 
passengers, on three subjects — Judgment, Punish- 
ment, Salvation — and theological points were the 
principal subjects of discussion the ten days occupied 



46 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

in going to New Orleans. The merits and demerits 
of Universalism were pretty freely canvassed by all, 
from the captain to the barber. Captain B,udd, the 
commander, was of the liberal faith. I met him in 
after years in St. Louis, where he died of yellow 
fever. He was a good officer, and a generous friend. 
T arrived at New Orleans in January. Ten days 
had transported me from winter to summer weather ; 
from where the earth was bound in chains of ice, and 
covered with snow, to where mother earth was teem- 
ing with vegetable life, and covered with a carpet, in 
which were blended the tints of the rainbow. Jack 
Frost was busy, biting ears and fingers, in Louis- 
ville, but in New Orleans gnats and musquitoes were 
fully as eager to bite at every exposed point. I 
heard Dr. Clapp, but he had not then embraced the 
better faith, and I formed no acquaintance with him. 
I traveled all over the city, and visited the battle 
ground where General Jackson gave the English 
such a drubbing. I wanted to preach on the spot, 
faut could not find a door of entrance. -No one 
seemed to care for any thing but money, and dissipa- 
tion. Mammon and Bacchus were the gods mostly 
worshiped. The churches on Sunday were nearly 
empty, but the theaters, museums, gambling dens, 
and grog-shops, were crowded. There were doubt- 
less some righteous men there, but to a stranger, they 
seemed to be as scarce as they were in Sodom of old. 



IN THE WEST. 47 



CHAPTEE III. 



A Sea "Voyage — A Meeting at Sea — Tornado — Strange Vessel — 
In Texas — Travels to Houston — Hard Fare — The Country — 
Sleeping on the Ground — Very Thirsty — Must have Water — 
Colorado River — Sound Asleep on its Banks — Crosses the Riv- 
er on Logs — Corn Cake — A Surprise — In Houston — General 
Houston — The Attorney General of Texas — San Jacinto Battle 
Ground — A Pandemonium— Buck Wheat Cakes — Embarked for 
New Orleans — A Condemned Vessel — On Allowance — In New 
Orleans — A Contrast — Ague and Fever — Up the Mississippi 
River. 

Desiring to see more of the world, I embarked for 
Matagorda, Texas, on board of a brig, bound for that 
place. A steam tag towed us to the Balize, and we 
were soon winding our way towards the destined 
port. There were many emigrants on board, going 
to Texas, to make themselves homes. As soon as it 
became known that I was a clergyman, I was invited 
to hold services. I stood on the quarter-deck, my 
hearers, numbering about one hundred, gathered 
around me — some on deck and some in the rigging. 
My text was, " And he arose, and rebuked the winds, 
and the sea, and there was a great calm." I com- 
menced by speaking of the storms to which the sea is 
subject, and then spoke of that One, who has perfect 
control of its mountain waves, and of the hurricane 
that lashes the mighty deep into such fury. One word 
from Him turned the headlong tornado into a calm, 
and the angry surges into repose. Life is a sea, and 
we are all voyagers, sailing from port to port. Some 
times we have fair weather, and sometimes foul 
weather. To-day the sun may shine bright, and the 
air be as gentle as an infant's breath, and our bark 



48 " TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

may glide smoothly along, like a vessel on the mir- 
rored deep ; to-morrow, clouds and darkness may 
gather around, the storms of human passion, or of 
adversity may threaten the destruction of us and ours, 
and in despair we may give up all as lost. But let us 
remember, through the whole journey of life, that 
there is One who controls the storms of life as well as 
the storms of the ocean, and to every troubled heart 
he does or will say, "Peace — be still." A hymn 
was sung, in which nearly all, sailors and passengers, 
participated. 

In an hour after services, a small cloud was observ- 
ed in the west. The captain, knowing what it betok- 
ened, ordered the vessel put in trim for a gale. In a 
few minutes, the wind was howling through the rig- 
ging, and the vessel plunging from wave to wave, as 
if eager to flee from the wrath of the storm-king.. 
The gale continued above an hour, when the wind 
abated, the clouds dispersed, the sun shone bright, 
and the sea soon became as smooth as a mirror. 
That latitude, at that season of the year, is subject to 
such gusts of passion. A few nights after, when I 
was sound asleep on the quarter-deck, for it was too 
hot to rest below, one of these gales crossed our 
track, and a huge wave breaking over the vessel, 
dashed me across the deck, when I scrambled up, and 
ran into the cabin, not fancying so unceremonious a 
sea-bath. One night, a man jumped overboard, and 
was lost — he must have been insane. Friends at 
home probably waited with alternate hope and fear 
for his return, and, perhaps, never knew of his sad 
fate. At that time, Mexico and Texas were at war, 
and armed vessels were in the gulf looking after 
prizes. One day, a large ship was observed in the J 
distance, bearing down upon us, without showing col- 
ors. Our captain was alarmed. "With a pale face, 
he eyed the stranger through his. telescope. We 
were all fearful it was a Mexican armed vessel, and , 



m THE WEST. 49 

that we should be taken into Matamqras; but we 
were finally relieved by the ship showing English 
colors, tacking eastward and leaving us. 

. We sailed up the Matagorda bay a few miles, but 
the water being shallow, I got on board a lighter, and 
went to a village, the name of which I do not now 
remember. ■ When I landed in Texas, I supposed I 
had delivered my last sermon. I had become tired 
of wandering about the world, and had had no oppor- 
tunity to settle before I had concluded to quit the 
ministry. But going to Texas at that early day to 
find a home, was certainly a wild and foolish project; 
and I had been there but a short time, when I repent- 
ed in sackcloth and ashes, for having taken the step I 
had, and resolved to return to the United States, and 
centinue in the ministry. I immediately commenced 
making preparation to go to Houston by the land 
route, and thence to New Orleans by water. The 
distance to Houston was one hundred and sixty miles, 
and I resolved to go there on foot. Being informed 
that there were but few inhabitants on the road, and 
most of them in a starving condition, as the Mexican 
army had the season previous passed through that 
region, I carried food to last me to the end of my 
land journey. No tea, coffee, sugar, salt or flour 
could be obtained for love or money. Every body 
lived on fresh beef, without salt, pepper or butter, 
save here and there an aristocrat who had a little 
corn meal in his larder. I bought some beef, cut it 
in slices, and dried it in the sun. 

Wi$i a good supply of dried beef, and nothing else, 
a tin canteen, a blanket and a staff, I commenced 
my journey, on foot and alone, through the wild prai- 
ries of Texas. I found the country to be nearly all 
prairie, the surface quite level, and the soil rich and 
deep. The forest trees were generally covered with 
ivy, which gave them a melancholy appearance. 
Live oaks abounded in some localities. Alligators 



50 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

flourished in, the streams, and Indians, snakes, taran- 
tulas and horned toads on the land. I often traveled 
a day without seeing a human being or his habitation. 
When night came on, I would stop, eat my dried 
beef, drink some water, which I had carried, perhaps, 
all day, and then roll myself in my blanket, lay on 
the ground, and go to sleep, not knowing that there 
was a human being within miles of me. I was four 
weeks in going to Houston, and did not sleep in a 
house one night during that time. 

I well remember how I suffered one day from 
thirst. It was a very warm day, and my little stock 
of water was exhausted at my morning repast. I 
expected to find more of the blessed beverage about 
noon in a small grove. I reached the spot, but no 
water was there; the bed where there had been a 
stream was dry and hard. It was a sore disappoint- 
ment, for I was very thirsty. As I could not eat my 
dry beef without water, I pressed towards the Color- 
ado river, which seemed to be about fifteen miles dis- 
tant, for I could see the timber bordering on the 
stream. I reached the timber a little after dark, but 
how far it was to the river, I knew not. I plunged 
into the forest in the direction I knew the stream 
must lay, as it ran southward. The moon, which had 
just risen, was my only guide, for be it known, I was 
on no road. It proved to be about four miles to the 
river, and how I got through, I know not. There 
was no path, the thick foliage of the forest admitted 
but little moonlight, and the underbrush, vines and 
branches of trees, made the whole distance a perfect 
thicket. But I went through with a rush, regardless 
of scratches, snakes, or anything else, for water I 
must have. About ten o'clock, I reached the bank 
of the river, reflecting the full moon, which had been 
my guide through the dense forest ; and never did a 
traveler on the Arabian desert behold the long sought 
pool with more delight. It seemed to be my friend, 



IN THE WEST. 51 

iny savior ; and it' I had been an idolator, I should 
have fallen clown and worshiped it. I filled my can- 
teen, and drank till I was satisfied. I then bathed 
my head, face, hands and feet in the glorious river. 
On the bank I partook of m^humble repast — dried 
beef and water — with a thankful heart. With my 
blanket around me, I laid down on the ground and 
slept, never better,, till the hot morning sun, shining 
in my face, awaked me, when it was about two hours' 
high. I have often wondered how I dared to sleep 
that night, knowing as I did, that there were alliga- 
tors in the river, and bears, wolves, and poisonous 
reptiles in the woods. In the morning, I again par- 
took of beef and water, with an excellent relish. 

But a new difficulty now presented itself. A deep 
river was before me, without a bridge or a boat, and 
I could not swim. But cross the stream I must by 
some means. In the first place, I explored the river, 
up and down, several miles, hoping to find some one 
to aid me, but not a sign of a human being, or human 
habitation could I discover. I resolved to attempt to 
cross the river on a log, and after much hard work 
succeeded in getting two logs of sufficient size, into 
the w£ter, fastened them together with strips of my 
blanket, and with pole in hand, launched into the 
river. The stream being quite rapid, my frail craft 
floated down about one mile, but I safely landed on 
the opposite shore without much trouble. After wan- 
dering in the canebrakes two hours, I struck a road, 
and thanked God and took courage. 

I soon came to a house, and had the good fortune 
to obtain a quart of corn, which I ground in an old 
coffee mill, and made some excellent corn bread of 
meal and water. I passed through San Felipe, 
where was once a village, but only its ruins then 
remained, for the Mexicans had destroyed it. Wak- 
ing one morning about sunrise, I was amazed by the 
presence of six naked Indians, squatted in the grass 



5 2 TWENTY-FIVE YE AES 

around me. I jumped to my feet ; they saw that I 
was astonished, but I noticed they smiled. Taking 
courage by that friendly; token, 1 walked up to them, 
and extended my right hand. They offered me the 
pipe of peace, which w*as gladly accepted. They did 
not understand a word of .English, nor I a word of 
Indian. We talked, however, in gestures. They 
remained an hour, when we separated in friendship. 

When within thirty miles of Houston, I sold my 
watch for fifteen dollars, expecting that I should need 
the money to help pay expenses to the States. After 
receiving the money, I heard a woman remark, " It 
will do him no good, for he will spend it all for liquor 
in Houston." I suppose she would have thought I 
lied, if I had told her that I had never drank a glass 
of liquor. Arriving at Houston, I renovated self and 
clothing, for both were rather dilapidated. Samuel 
Houston was then president of Texas. I was in com- 
pany with him several times, and dined once in the 
log-cabin, where he boarded. He was a good talker, 
but an awful swearer. Oath after oath rolled from 
his tongue without an effort. It is said that General 
Jackson was an eloquent swearer, but I have doubts 
of his beating General Houston in that department of 
eloquence. I witnessed his departure for the interior 
of Texas, to treat with some Indian tribes. The fer- 
ryman did not handle the boat to suit the president, 
and he poured battery after battery of oaths on the 
poor fellow's head. On leaving, he embraced, after 
the French fashion, his friends, who had followed him 
to the boat. I was on the San Jacinto battle ground, 
a few miles from the city. It was a short but decided 
contest. The Mexican forces were totally routed, and 
Santa Anna taken prisoner. That battle crowned 
Houston with glory and honor in Texas. The town 
of Houston, when I was there, was a moral desert. 
Vice of most every name and grade reigned trium- 
phant — it was a hell on earth. The Attorney-Gen- 



IN THE WEST. 53 

eral of Texas, while I was there, roamed the streets 
half of one night, drunk, and hatless, coatless, boot- 
less, daring any one to light with him. The people 
laughed about it as if it was a trifling matter, and of 
common occurrence. It is to be hoped that the mor- 
als of that place have improved. 

Wishing to go to New Orleans by water, I went in 
a lighter down Buffalo bayou to Galveston bar, where 
the steamer was anchored. The passage down occu- 
pied^ three days, and that vessel was a perfect pande- 
monium — the officers and hands were quarreling or 
fighting most of the time. Dirks and pistols were 
freely used. Buckwheat cakes and fat hog-sides 
were served to us three times a day. And oh, what 
cakes ! The cook baked them about an inch thick, 
without any rising properties, and put them on the 
table stone cold. . Fine cakes — thick, cold and solid. 
I finally reached the steamer, and the captain prom- 
ised us a quick passage and good fare. But I soon 
learned, when it was too late, that the boat was an 
old, rotten, condemned hulk; that provisions were 
scarce, and that the captain was a scamp. Time and 
again the engine broke, or some of the running gear, 
water and food soon being exhausted, we were 
allowed one pint of water and one Boston cracker 
per day. The fuel being all consumed, we had to 
burn part of the boat to get into port. ¥e were a 
week in going from Galveston bar to the mouth of 
the Mississippi river, when the trip should have been 
made in thirty-six hours. Fortunately we had pleas- 
ant weather, for one such squall as we had going out, 
would have sent the whole concern to the bottom of 
the gulf. 

When I returned to Eew Orleans it was mid-sum- 
mer, and the city presented a very different appear- 
ance from what it did when I was there the previous 
winter. Then business was at its zenith, now at its 
nadir; then the hotels, streets and marts of trade 



54 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

were crowded, now there was plenty of room ; then 
steamboats and vessels were receiving and discharge 
ing freight for and from every clime, now the ship- 
ping was very meager ; then the weather was pleas- 
ant, now the heat was scorching, burning, melting ; 
then it was healthy, now the yellow fever and almost 
every other fever, was raging. Exposure and hard 
fare in Texas, ultimated in ague and fever. I had 
several chills while in Houston ; when at sea beyond 
the land breeze, I was free from them ; but as soon as 
I inhaled the air from shore, they returned with 
increased violence, and it was two years before I 
entirely regained my former good health. 

I was soon on board of a steamer bound for Cin- 
cinnati, and after a voyage of two weeks, landed at 
Leavenworth, Ind., where I remained three months 
doctoring for the ague. 



IN THE WEST. 55 



CHAPTER IV. 



Labors op E. B. Mann — N. Wadsworth — Owner of a Eorse — 
Preach in Indiana and Kentucky — A Propane Life — General 
Clarke — Atheism — The Eyeless Fish — A Presbyterian Minis- 
ter's Wisdom — No Hell, No Heaven — Travel in Ohio — Another 
Preacher Replies — Labors in Dayton — D. R. Biddlecom — George 
Messenger — R. Smith's Somersault — J. A. Gurley — George Rog- 
ers — Start por Indiana — Battle in Harrison — Universalism an 
old Doctrine, and of God — Partialism an old Doctrine, but of 
Satan — Grove Meeting — Father St. John — Badly Treated — 

John O'Kane on his Creed In Indianapolis — A. Longley — A 

Horse — Questioned by a Methodist — In Terre Haute — Yery Un- 
popular. 

Partially recovering, I resumed my former work of 
traveling and preacliing. E. B. Mann resided near 
Leavenworth, and labored in the counties in Indiana 
arid Kentucky, bordering on the Ohio river. He also 
distributed a large number of denominational books. 
His circuit, which was about two hundred miles round, 
lie traveled on horseback, once a month. He was not 
graced by education or refinement, yet his labors were 
blessed with a good degree of success. He is now 
dead, and his mortal remains repose near Leaven- 
worth, the center of his labors for many years. 

I lectured in L. and vicinity three weeks, and then 
proceeded to Louisville, Ky. N. "Wadsworth. was 
then residing there, and publishing a paper called 
The Berean / and at his earnest solicitation, I spent 
three months in obtaining subscribers for it. Mr. W. 
was formerly a Methodist minister, but then cherished 
a more liberal faith. His talent was above mediocri- 
ty, his acquirements fair, was a good man, and devot- 
ed to the cause he espoused, and the profession of his 
choice. He was small in stature, and feeble in health 



56 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

— too small and feeble for his- large and active mind. 
A year after, he moved to Troy, "Mo., his periodical 
was discontinued, and he died of consumption, after 
laboring there with excellent success, about one year. 
His widow resides there still, and although she has 
changed her name, the home of brother and sister 
Sydnor is ever a welcome retreat for our ministers. 
It has been my privilege to spend many pleasant 
hours in their company. The humble grave of my 
early friend is in the Troy cemetery ; aud I have read 
the brief monumental inscription on the cold marble 
at its head, through tearful eyes. 

I bought a horse of Mr. Wads worth, aud agreed to 
pay him in obtaining subscribers for his paper. It 
was the first horse I ever owned, and I felt quite rich, 
and very independent. I preached in most of the 
towns within fifty miles of Louisville, in Kentucky 
and Indiana. In Salem, Ind., I delivered a series of 
sermons. A merchant there told me that his count- 
ing-room was his chapel, his ledger his Bible, and 
money his religion. He was then doing a large and 
lucrative business. A few years after, he had no 
counting-room, no ledger, no money, and died a mis- 
erable death — the natural result of so profane a life. 
General Clarke, an old Indian warrior, resided near 
Salem. He attended my meetings, and I was often 
at his house. He said he had helped steal Kentucky 
and Indiana from the Indians. He was an intelli- 
gent man, but a zealous Atheist. He admitted that 
faith in a God of goodness, wisdom and justice, and 
in the immortal blessedness of mankind, was more 
satisfactory, and yielded more happiness than Athe- 
ism; and if such exalted and benevolent sentiments 
had received his attention ere his present views had 
become permanently established, he might have em- 
braced them, but now he was to old to learn. I used 
to rejoin, that his admission was fatal to his creed. 
If a belief in God and immortality confers more hap- 



IN THE WEST. 57 

piness than the denial of a God, and a hereafter, that 
was the best evidence that Atheism was false, and 
religion truth, for truth always confers more happi- 
ness than error. Virtue is truth and vice is false- 
hood, because the former is adapted to our nature, 
and makes us happy, while the latter is a violation of 
our nature, and darkens and deforms the mind. For 
the same reason your theory, I would add, must be 
false, and mine correct. Not "too old to learn," 
General. Your body is frail — it has been dying 
these many years, but your mind is vigorous. Why 
stop learning ? If religion is true, death, that is fast 
destroying your body, will not invade your mind — 
that will live to learn forever. 

Near Salem was a cave, containing water, in which 
were fish without eyes. God creates no superfluities. 
The fish of every sea, lake, river, have eyes, because 
there is light in those waters, but the beams of the 
sun had never penetrated that cavern, therefore eyes 
were useless, and hence the denizens of that eternal 
dungeon, have no visional organ. Nothing is created 
in vain ; every thing answers some useful purpose in 
the economy of the Creator. Here is a solid founda- 
tion on which to rest. 

In Bedford, Inch, a Presbyterian minister abruptly 
attacked me at the close of a discourse. " If the 
pains of the damned will cease," said he, " so will 
the joys of the saved ; for the words that express 
the misery of the one, express . the happiness of the 
other." Never, I replied, was a man more mistaken. 
The Bible speaks of endless life, but not a word about 
endless death. The terms, " endless death," " endless 
misery," "endless woe," "endless damnation," "end- 
less hell," found in the creeds of men, do not once 
occur in the Bible. Read all that Moses and the 
prophets, Jesus and the apostles, said -or wrote, and 
you will not find those terms once, not even once, in 
the Old or New Testaments. "Endless" life is a 



58 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

Bible term, but those other endlesses are wretched 
fictions. The Bible says, "O hell, I will be thy 
destruction /" but where does it say, O heaven, I will 
be thy destruction ? ! 

Finding but few persons of the liberal faith in the 
vicinity of Louisville, I concluded to go to Ohio. 
Preached in Cincinnati, Mount Healthy, Hamilton, 
Oxford and Middletown. In the latter place a cler- 
gyman attended my meetings, and at the close of 
every sermon entered his solemn protest against what 
had been said. He was a German, and in one of his 
harangues said, " This fellow believes the fire will be 
squenched, and I believe the fire will not be sqiwnchedP 
But he became so interested, that he proposed travel- 
ing with me a few weeks, but not caring about his 
company, I did not accept of his proposition. 

Proceeded to Dayton ; and having reference to no 
one, I called on the sheriff, and engaged the Court- 
house for the next day — Sunday. Wrote some 
notices of the proposed meeting, and while putting 
them up in different parts of the town, a gentleman 
introduced himself, who proved to be the mayor of 
the city. He kindly informed me of a man of my 
faith, on whom I called, and was received with a 
hearty welcome. I delivered two discourses on Sun- 
day, and on Monday morning was preparing to leave 
town, when several friends called on me, and urged 
me to remain, at least, a few months. The town, 
they said, had just .been scourged by a crazy revival, 
and if I should tarry there awhile, they were sure a 
good society would be established. I told them I 
could not remain, as I was under obligation to travel 
to extend the circulation of The Berean, and must 
soon have, at least, seventy subscribers, to discharge 
my obligation to its publisher. "If that number 
should be obtained in this town, will you tarry with 
us ?" queried the gentlemen. I replied, that I would. 
Notice was given that there would be a meeting that 



IN THE WEST. 59 

evening. I delivered a discourse, and at the close of* 
it, a friend informed the congregation, that I had con- 
sented to remain three months, if seventy subscribers 
should be obtained in town for The Berean • and in a 
few minutes the required number were secured. We 
soon organized a society, a choir, and our meetings 
were well attended during my sojourn in that pleas- 
ant town. I wrote two sermons every week, and 
committed them to memory — did riot take the manu- 
script into the desk with me. The society paid me 
one hundred dollars for my services. My health not 
being good, I declined remaining after the three 
months had expired I stipulated to remain. The 
society, after I left, built a meeting-house, and pros- 
pered for several years. I am not informed of its 
present condition. 

While residing in Dayton, I visited Springfield, 
Centerville, and many other places within twenty or 
thirty miles of the city, in all of which I delivered 
my message. In the former place, George Messen- 
ger, a minister of the Common Salvation, was residing, 
and the society was building a meeting-house. D. R. 
Biddlecom, well known in the West as a minister of 
the Restitution, visited me while I resided in Dayton. 
He was then traveling and scattering the good seed 
broadcast over the land. He now lives in Dayton, 
and is still engaged in the good work. 

Taking leave of my dear friends in Dayton, I pro- 
ceeded to Cincinnati. Stopped in Mason, and deliv- 
ered four sermons. Here I met Robert Smith, a sin- 
gular kind of a man, but of considerable ability. He 
deemed it wrong to pray in public, baptize, or partake 
of the eucharist. Some of his views being offensive 
to our people, he was often coldly treated. This 
offended' him, and he subsequently joined the Reform- 
ers, prayed in public, eat bread and drank wine every 
Sabbath, and taught that immersion in water is a con- 
dition of salvation. When I returned to Cincinnati, 



60 TWENTY-MVE YEAES 

J. A. Gurley was publishing the Star in the West in 
that city. He was an active and enterprising man, 
possessed respectable talent, and was a forcible speak- 
er. He was a popular preacher in the "West, as long 
as he continued in the ministry. He made himself a 
beautiful home near Cincinnati, and lived under his 
own vine and fig-tree. Having made two or three 
hundred thousand dollars — on paper — by Chicago 
town-lots, he abandoned the Star and the ministry, 
and jumped into the muddy pool of politics. . He 
was a member of Congress two terms, and when he 
died, was governor of Arizona. Here I met for the 
first time, George Rogers, a well known minister of 
our faith, and the author of several acceptable books. 
During his brief ministry, he traveled extensively in 
the South and West, publishing the glad tidings of 
life and immortality. He was a little man physically, 
but a great man intellectually and morally ; his voice 
was feeble, but his words were weighty. He broke 
clown a good constitution by hard labor, and died in 
the prime of. life. 

Mr. Rogers had recently traveled in the interior 
and western portions of Indiana, and advised me to 
spend a few months in those sections of that state. 
In a few days I was on the road, bound for Indiana. 
It was then the middle of May, 1838, and I did not 
expect to return till the latter part of autumn. 
Mounting my faithful horse, I rode to Harrison, 
where I preached in the evening. As soon as I had 
said amen, George Campbell, a Reformer, expressed 
a desire to reply. He was told he would be heard 
with attention. Among other things he remarked, 
" That ITniversalism is a new doctrine, and therefore 
cannot be the gospel, for that is old — most eighteen 
hundred years old." I replied, that it was as old 
as revelation ; and that several of its distinguishing 
features were revealed to our first parents by the Cre- 
ator. To them he said, " In the day you . sin you 



IN THE WEST. 61 

shall surely die." They did sin, and they died the 
death threatened. St. Faul calls it a "death in tres- 
passes and in sins ;" " to be carnally minded," he says, 
"is death," and he terms this death the wages of sin. 
This is the death — a moral death — that God threat- 
ened the primitive pair ; and if we sin we die the same 
death — no mistake about that. Mark also the impor- 
tant fact, that they were to suffer this punishment in 
the day they sinned. It was not to be deferred till 
the next day, next year, or next world, but in the 
day, when and where they sinned, they were to begin 
to suffer the penalty of transgression. It is as true 
now as it was six thousand years ago, that in the day 
we sin we are punished ; it is as true in this town as 
it was in the Garden of Eden, that in the day we sin. 
we are punished ; it is as true of us as it was of Adam 
and Eve, that in the day we sin we are punished. 
Truth is eternal ; the laws of God are unchangable, 
the same yesterday, to-day and forever. As sin and 
its penalty were chained: together in the beginning, 
it is thus now, and ever will be thus. Here then, in 
the beginning, we are taught the certainty of punish- 
ment — "in the day you sin you shall be punished ;" 
and here also we are taught, that punishment is im- 
mediate — in the day they sinned the penalty was to 
overtake them. These ancient truths we believe and 
preach — they are portions of the gospel. But my 
friend, Mr. Campbell, denies all this. Pie contends 
that punishment is not certain, is not immediate ; that 
a person may sin three-score years and ten, without 
being punished, for remember, he denied that God 
judges in the earth ; he said, that was a new doctrine, 
one of our heresies, it was not taught in the Bible. 
He also teaches, that a man, after spending seventy 
years in crime of the blackest dye, can, by complying 
with certain conditions, escape all punishment in eter- 
nity, and occupy as high a seat in heaven as St. Paul 
or St. John. In a word, Mr. G. denies squarely and 



62 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

fully the everlasting truth of the ancient record, that 
" in the day you sin you shall be punished." 

But the gentleman is not the first to make that 
denial, and this is not the first place where this truth 
has been called a lie. He has an ancient precedent, 
he is following an old leader, has taken lessons from 
an old master. The serpent preached in Eden's gar- 
den just what the gentleman has been preaching here 
to-night, with so much zeal. " Ye shall not surely 
die" said his snakeship ; God will not surely punish 
you ; there is a way to escape. Besides, don't believe 
a word of it, that you will be punished in the day you 
sin. Mr. C. has taken the serpent's text this even- 
ing, and I give him credit for sticking to the text of 
the father of lies. Our doctrine, then, relative to 
punishment, is not new, neither is Mr. Campbell's 
doctrine, concerning punishment, new. But ours and 
his came from different sources ; one is of God, who is 
the author of truth, the other is of the serpent, the 
father of lies. They are both ancient doctrines, but 
judge ye which is true. 

The doctrine of salvation — universal salvation — 
is not a new thing, either, under the sun, as Mr. 0. 
affirmed. Immediately after sin, and its dire results, 
entered into the world, and while the first sinners 
were yet trembling with guilt in the blissful garden, 
it was revealed to them that the seed of the woman 
should bruise the serpent's head. It is generally con- 
sidered that " the seed of the woman " was the future 
Christ, whose advent occurred four thousand years 
afterwards. This seed was promised through the 
Jewish patriarchs — " In thee and in thy seed shall all 
nations of the earth be blessed." And St. Paul dis- 
tinctly asserts, that Jesus is here intended. "Now to 
Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He 
saith not, And to seeds, as of many ; but as of one, 
And to thy seed, which is Christ." Gal. iii. 16. The 
seed, then, promised to our first parents, and to the 



IN THE WEST. 63 

patriarchs, was Jesus Christ. lie was to bruise the 
serpent's head. Serpent, in the Bible, is a symbol of 
sin. As a serpent is a low, vile and cruel reptile, so 
vice is low, vile and cruel. It worms its slimy folds" 
into our thoughts, purposes, character, and life, and 
is sure to poison every thing it touches. But Jesus 
Christ is to bless all nations, by bruising the serpent's 
head. When we wish to kill a snake, our blows are 
aimed at his head; so Jesus is to crush the head of 
the serpent, that is, destroy sin, and thus bless all na- 
tions, as the patriarchs were promised. 

Three vitally important truths, then, were revealed 
to mankind in the morning of creation. 1st. Punish- 
ment for .transgressing is certain. 2d, It is immedi- 
ate. 3d. Sin and its results are temporary, for it is 
the purpose and promise of God that the seed of the 
woman shall make an end of sin, and thus bless all 
the nations of the earth. 

As soon as Mr. Campbell's discourse was disposed 
of, a Presbyterian minister, by the name of Thomas, 
spent half an hour in trying to prove that countless 
millions of Adam's race would be the victims of Al- 
mighty wrath, world without end. I replied to him, * 
and when we got through it was midnight. The con- 
gregation was large, and was so deeply interested that 
nearly all remained till that late hour. The next 
Sunday, I delivered two discourses in the Snow Set- 
tlement, to immense assemblies. The meetings were 
held in a grove, and a wagon was my pulpit. In 
Brookville, I also spoke to the people. Father St. 
John, a venerable man, resided there, and for many 
years occasionally dispensed the word of life. His 
silvery locks are now in the grave, but his soul, I trust, 
is with God. Spent several days in "West Union, and 
although I told the people that God was their Father, 
Friend and Benefactor, some treated me with bitter 
malignity — threatened to drive me out of town, and 
even to horse-whip me. Since then, a better spirit 



64 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES ^ 

lias prevailed. There is now a society and meeting 
in that place. Let not the reformer despair if his 
mission is rejected; every crucified truth will rise 
again, and go on conquering and to conquer. 

Spent a Sunday in Connersville, preached twice, 
and heard John O'Kane, a noted minister among the 
Reformers, once. He has, since then, held several 
oral debates with our ministers. Eot knowing much 
about the faith of his sect, I asked him the following 
questions, and received the subjoined answers : 

" What must we do to be saved ?" 

" Believe in Christ, repent of our sins, and be bap- 
tized." 

"What do you mean by baptism?" 

" Immersion in water." 

" Do you mean to say, that no one can be saved 
without immersion ?" 

" There is no promise that any one can." 

" That is not answering my question. Do you con- 
tend that there is no salvation without water baptism ?" 

" The New Testament gives us no assurance, that a 
soul can be redeemed without baptism." 

" But what is tour opinion V 

" No matter what my opinion may be." 

" Cannot the heathen be saved without being bap- 
tized?" 

" I have nothing to do with the heathen." 

" Cannot children, dying in childhood, be saved 
without being baptized ?" 

" Yes." 

"Then you admit that one third of mankind are 
saved without baptism. But you just said, that bap- 
ism was a condition of salvation, and that you had no 
evidence a soul could be saved without complying 
with that condition. Your system contradicts itself. 
If God can save one third of mankind without bap- 
tism, can he not save the remaining two thirds with- 
out baptism ?" 



IN THE WEST. 65 

" I have no evidence that he will." 

Since I had this conversation with Mr. O'Kane, I 
have often come in contact with persons of his denom- 
ination, and they all contradict themselves as he did. 
They all assert, that water baptism is a condition of 
salvation, without any qualification or exception. 
But after they have laid down this platform, ask them 
if the salvation of children depends on being bap- 
tized, and they will say, nay. Ask them if the heath- 
en can be saved without baptism, and they will give 
an evasive answer. 

I spoke in several of the towns on the National 
road, between Richmond and Indianapolis, and gen- 
erally had fair congregations. In the latter place, the 
capital of Indiana, I delivered several sermons in the 
Court-house, but found only two families of the lib- 
eral faith — C. Yanhouton and A. Longley. The lat- 
ter was doing business in town, and preaching in the 
neighboring villages on Sundays. He still resides in 
Indiana, and is still preaching the gospel. He is a 
worthy man, and a sincere and devout Christian. 
He has been a minister of the gospel about forty 
years. My horse being lame, Mr. Yanhouton fur- 
nished a colt, that had never been rode, in its stead ; 
but I soon broke him, and he carried me on my mis- 
sion very pleasantly. When I returned him, five 
months afterwards, he jumped with delight. I love 
a horse, love to ride and take care of him. He is a 
noble animal, and merits kind treatment from man. 
But he is often savagely abused. I always want to 
kick the fellow, who ill treats a horse. He has a bad 
heart. 

I lectured in Greencastle several days. A Metho- 
dist minister, desiring to know more about our faith, 
questioned me thus : 

" Do you believe in the Trinity ?" 

" JSTo ; I believe in one God, and no more." 

" What do you think of the person of Christ ?" 



66 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

"He was a created, subordinate, and dependent 
being ; the Son of God, the Son of man.' 

" For how many did he die ?" 

" He tasted death for every man, — i Gave himself a 
ransom for alV " 

" Did he make a vicarious atonement ?" 

" No. He came to teach us that God is our Fath- 
er, Judge and Savior ; that we are immortal beings, 
shall live forever, and that we should love God, and 
our fellow men." 

"But did he not come to reconcile God to the 
world?" 

" It was the mission of Jesus to reconcile man to 
God, by the influence of truth, and his own noble 
example. God is right, man is wrong, and Jesus 
preached, lived and died, to advance man in all things 
pure and good — to make man Godlike, and hence it 
is said, that ' God is in Christ reconciling the world 
to himself.' " 

" Do you believe in experimental religion ?" 

"Religion does no good unless we individually 
experience its blessings. It is not an abstraction, a 
speculation, but a reality, something to be known, 
felt, experienced ; it is a life" 

" Do you believe in conversion ?" 

" Yes ; conversion from error to truth, from sin to 
holiness, from depravity to purity, from a disloyal to 
a loyal life. But this conversion begins, progresses 
and is consummated in perfect harmony with the laws 
of the mind. It is as natural a process as is the 
growth of the body." 

" Do you believe in a hell ?" 

" The word hell in the Bible has several distinct 
signification. 1st. It often means the grave. 2d. 
Temporal destruction. 3d. Moral degradation. 4th. 
The state of the dead. But hell in no sense is end- 
less in duration." 

"Do you believe in a general judgment?" 



IN THE WEST. 67 

" In a general and everlasting judgment. All are 
now judged by the eternal laws of God, and we rise 
or fall, are happy or miserable, as we obey or disobey 
them. This judgment is also everlasting. Through 
all time, and through all eternity, happiness will 
result from obeying the laws of God, and misery from 
disobeying them. Entering the spirit world, will not 
change our natures, and the laws of the Creator are 
the same there as here." 

" But do you not believe in a day of judgment ?" 

"Yes; in a day and in days of judgment. Judg- 
ment commenced six thousand years ago, and it is 
not yet closed. ' All God's ways are judgment,' the 
Bible teaches us. Particular calamities befalling na- 
tions and cities, are called judgment days. The gos- 
pel dispensation is termed a judgment day." 

" But do you not believe in a judgment day at the 
end of time, when the immortal destiny of each of 
Adam's race will be immutably fixed for eternal weal 
or woe ?" 

" Eo, sir ; I can find no reason, or philosophy, or 
scripture for such a notion. The destiny of each 
individual will not be determined at the end of time, 
but it was determined in the purpose of God from all 
eternity. Man is immortal, and is destined to become 
more and more Godlike, intellectually and morally, 
as the eternal ages roll along." 

" Are wicked men punished ?" 

" In the language of the Bible, I believe, that £ He 
that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong he hath 
done, and there is no respect of persons.' ' Though 
hand join in hand, the wicked shall not go unpun- 
ished.' ' God is not mocked ; whatsover a man sow- 
eth, that shall he also reap. He that soweth to the 
flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption." 

" You deny though, everlasting punishment." 

" I believe in everlasting punishment in the Bible 
sense of the word, but not in the present popular 



68 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

sense. Punishment is as lasting as sin ; but the Bible 
no where teaches that sin and wrong are immortal." 

" How long do you suppose punishment will con- 
tinue ?" 

" I know not how long. If you can inform me 
how long men will be corruptible, earthy, sensual, I 
will tell you how lon^they will suffer." 

" Do you think that in the other world all will be 
equally happy V 

" There will, doubtless, be different degrees of pur- 
ity, virtue and happiness, on the other side of the 
grave. There must be a moral connection between 
this life and the life to come. As we end here we 
shall begin there. Character belongs to the soul, and 
the death of the body will not make a wise man of a 
fool, or a saint of a sinner." 

"Do you believe in the resurrection of the body?" 

" I believe in the resurrection of man, the inner 
man, that which now lives, thinks, and acts, but not 
of the body, these bones and muscles, this flesh and 
blood. This body connects the spirit with the mate- 
rial world, but when it shall be withdrawn from this 
outer sphere, and live wholly in the interior world, it 
will have no farther use of this physical frame. It 
will be clothed there with a body adapted to that 
heavenly home." 

" Where is heaven V 9 

" Heaven is not a place, but a condition — a condi- 
tion of wisdom, purity, holiness. Heaven reigns in 
that soul, which is loyal to God. There is a differ- 
ence between heaven and the spirit world. The lat- 
ter is a place — it may be boundless space. Men may 
exist in that world without knowing much of heaven, 
as they do exist in this world without much heavenly 
mindedness." 

" Well, you entertain curious views. I do not see 
how you can reconcile them with the Bible." 

I journeyed on to Terre Haute, where I delivered 



IN THE WEST. 69 

several discourses. This was then a pleasant village, 
but now it is a large and flourishing town, and one of 
the most beautiful places in the West. Its spacious 
streets, flanked on each side by trees, shrubbery, 
lawns, flower gardens and elegant dwellings, give it a 
charming appearauce. It stands on the east bank of 
the Wabash river, and on the margin of a rich and 
beautiful prairie. Subsequently a society was organ- 
ized, and a meeting-house built, but for various rea- 
sons, which I need not name, our cause, for many 
years, has been in a feeble condition in that city. It 
has recently revived under the_auspices of the North- 
west Conference, and an able minister, H. Jewell, is 
settled in the place. I rode to Yincennes, seventy 
miles down the river, and preached in several vil- 
lages and neighborhoods, in not one of which the 
doctrine of the Restitution had before been proclaim- 
ed. The people generally attended my meetings, but 
I found but few believers in the Great Salvation. 

Returning to Terre Haute, I went up the "Wabash 
river, and preached in Clinton, Eugene, Perryville, 
Attica, and West Point, places I have often since vis- 
ited. The religious principles I advocated were new 
to nearly all the inhabitants of the Wabash Yalley, 
where I was traveling. There was here and there a 
believer, but nearly all the people knew nothing of 
Universalism. " Why," said a man to me, " you do 
not believe in the Bible, do you?" When I informed 
him that I did, he was much astonished ; and he was 
perfectly amazed when he was told that I found my 
faith in the Good Book. " I don't know what you 
preach for," said he, " if all will be saved ; and as to 
praying, of course, you don't pray." This man's 
knowledge of our faith was the knowledge nearly all 
the people of that region had of it. I was regarded 
as an infidel, a wolf, a blasphemer, an emissary of 
Satan. Women crossed the street when they saw me 
coming, as if I was a walking pestilence ; children 



70 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

passed me as if they were afraid, and men looked 
suspicious when they came in contact with me. But 
it was not thus with all — far from it. Most of those 
I met with, though they knew nothing of Universal- 
ism, treated me kindly, and listened respectfully to 
what I had to say. 

I spent one month in Lafayette and Dayton, places 
seven miles apart. A Methodist clergyman, by the 
name of Smith, attended my first meeting in La- 
fayette, and gave notice that he would reply in the 
evening, and invited me to attend and reply to him 
if I saw proper. Each of us spoke several times, but 
I was far from being satisfied with my defense. I 
considered it a failure, though my friends seemed to 
think I did well. Mr. Smith was a pretty sharp man, 
an experienced preacher, and accustomed to speaking 
without preparation. He knew he had the advantage 
of me, and so followed me up for several Sabbaths, 
and seemed determined to drive me out of the coun- 
try, or shut my mouth. We had five distinct encoun- 
ters, and in the outcome he got the worst of it, for he 
spent his strength in the beginning of the contest, 
while I grew stronger as the discussion progressed. 
Two years after I located in Lafayette, organized a 
society, commenced the publication of The Christian 
Teacher^ and several years after a meeting-house was 
erected. In the interim of the discussions with Mr. 
Smith, I preached in Dayton. Here a school teacher 
tried two or three times to demolish me, but I sur- 
vived his attacks. I found some excellent friends in 
this place, a society was formed, and a few years after 
a temple was erected. 

Preaching, debating, conversation, visiting and rid- 
ing, occupied nearly all my time, and what reading I 
did was chiefly on horseback. If I had five or fifty 
miles to ride, I improved the occasion by reading 
some useful book. I would pass travelers and farm- 
houses unnoticed. I recollect, after spending a day 



IN THE WEST. 71 

in riding and reading, I put up at a farm-house, and 
told the good woman I wanted no meat, tea or coffee 
for supper. "What do you want?" said she, with 
amazement. " A little bread and milk, if you please, 
and a whole candle, as I wish to write this evening." 
The candle was furnished, a pig's face, a cold hoe- 
cake, and a bowl of sour milk. She went to the 
neighboring village, Martinsville, and reported that 
there was a crazy man at her house. 

Proceeding on my journey, with book in hand, 
I rode to Logansport, where I lectured twice. Have 
preached there often since. We. have now an elegant 
meeting-house in this pleasant and flourishing town, 
built by a bequest of Colonel Pollard, who for many 
years was a prominent merchant of the place. He 
will long be remembered with gratitude for his noble 
gift. Though dead he yet speaks. Men of wealth, 
in disposing of their possessions, would do well to 
remember religious societies, benevolent and literary 
institutions, and those tried and faithful men who 
have grown gray in the service of humanity. Such 
men devote their time and talent to the world, and 
old age often finds them poor in this world's goods. 
Let the rich, when dying, consider them, and the 
cause for which they have given their all. 

Near Plymouth were congregated six hundred Pot- 
towattamie Indians, preliminary to moving them to 
the distant West. I spent several hours with them. 
Asked the chief where they were going. " I don't 
know." " Do you wish to remain here ?" " Oh yes, 
oh yes. I leave the bones of my fathers here ; but 
where will my bones, and those of my children be 
laid? No matter, no matter. The Indians are 
doomed." A father and mother buried their child 
with their own hands. Not a word was uttered, not 
a tear was shed. " Lo, the poor Indian !" In a few 
more years the sun will rise on the last original owner 
of our national domain. Our swords and our vices 



72 TWEKTY-FIVE YEAES 

have been doing their work of death ever since the 
Indians welcomed the Pilgrims on Ply moutli^ Rock, 
and they are rising in judgment and condemning us. 
It seems to be a law of nature, that a subjugated peo- 
ple must either blend with their conquerors or be an- 
nihilated. The Indians will not unite with us, and 
destruction is their doom. The weak, if they attempt 
to stand alone, fall. Their only chance of salvation 
is in the alliance of the strong. 

Lectured in Laporte and Door village, and then pro- 
ceeded to Michigan City, where I also held meetings. 
I also spoke in South Rend. A Presbyterian clergy- 
man opened his battery on me from his pulpit, which 
has been called the coward's castle. He said Univer 
salism was false for the following reasons : 1st, It 
conflicts with the justice of God ; 2d, With the mer- 
cy of God ; 3d, With the love of God ; 4th, With 
reason ; 5th, With sound philosophy ; 6th, With the 
law of God ; 7th, With the gospel of Jesus Christ ; 
8th, With the Bible doctrine of sin ; 9th, Of punish- 
ment; 10th, Of faith; 11th, Of rewards; 12th; Of 
heaven; 13th, Of hell; 14th, Because it is a new 
doctrine ; 15th, The devil's doctrine ; 16th, A wick- 
ed doctrine; 17th, A licentious doctrine; 18th, 
Wicked men and devils preach it. I replied to his 
long tirade. Our people now have a society, meet- 
ing-house, and a settled minister in South Bend. 
There is also a society and meeting-house four miles 
from there, at Mount Pleasant. 

I pursued my weary way, on horseback, to Chi- 
cago, through swamps, over sand ridges, fighting 
mosquitoes, fleas, gnats and bedbugs. I used to 
think in those days that the region between Michigan 
City and Chicago was abandoned in disgust ere it 
was half finished. And the few inhabitants on the 
route were on a par with the country. They lived in 
a wretched manner, in log cabins on sand ridges, sur- 
rounded by swamps and stagnant pools. Since then, 



m THE WEST. 73 

railroads have improved the country and the people. 
Spent three weeks in Chicago, and preached three 
Sabbaths in an old court-house to large congregations. 
Chicago then contained about five thousand inhabi- 
tants, "and was rather a hard looking place. There 
were no bridges across the river, no paved streets, no 
railroads, and but little business was done, and its 
citizens did not dream of the splendid career that was 
awaiting their humble town. I found some zealous 
friends of our cause, but there was no organization, 
and they had never held regular meetings. While I 
was there, I visited most of the Universalist families, 
and was urged to settle in Chicago, but I told my 
friends that it was my mission to " to go into all the 
world and preach the gospel to every creature." 

Leaving Chicago, I turned my horse towards Cin- 
cinnati, and passed through Logansport, Lafayette, 
and Indianapolis. I would ride all day and deliver a 
long discourse at night. Returned to Cincinnati the 
last of December, after an absence of six months; 
and during that time I had traveled twelve hundred 
miles — all on horseback — delivered one hundred 
and ten discourses, and received for compensation, 
one hundred and fifty dollars. 



74 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 



CHAPTEE V. 



Journey in Ohio — Intemperance — General Baldwin — In Columbus 
— Death Penalty — How to Deal with Offenders — Preach in 
Newark and Zanesville — Hell Discussed — Mrs. Frances Gage — 
Invited to Settle in Marietta — W. H. Jolly — In Chillicothe — 

Opposition in Kichmond . Webber — In Kentucky — Dr. Cham- 

berlin: — Opposition in Lexington — Is Uniyersalism Infidelity ? — ■ 
A Slanderous Story by a D.D. — In Paris — Excursion to Patriot 
— A Discussion — Daniel Parker — Cure the Ague — Good Health. 

In a few days I commenced a journey through 
Oliio on my ever faithful horse. Lectured in Mason 
on temperance. I have seen the blasting effects of 
rum drinking, bnt neither my body or my soul was 
ever polluted by a glass of distilled liquor. Cannot 
distinguish the different kinds of spirits, and have no 
inclination to know more about them. Rum selling, 
and rum drinking, are abominations that make deso- 
late the hearts and homes of multitudes ; and it is 
amazing that sensible men will rush headlong to 
destruction with the bottle in their hands and their 
eyes wide open. The gnilty parties in this wretched 
business are, 1st, The manufacturers: 2d, The sel- 
lers; 3d, The drinkers; 4th, The authorities that 
license the traffic; 5th, The communities who em- 
power the authorities to license. Most of the people 
are guilty, and all suffer more or less, directly or indi- 
rectly. But let the friends of temperance labor in 
season and out of season, to reform the people, and 
banish the curse from the land. Their noble work 
will not be in vain ; God will crown it with success. 
I also delivered several sermons near Edwardsville. 
General Baldwin resided near there — a reliable 
friend of liberal principles. He was an intelligent 



IN TIIE WEST. 75 

and influential man, and devoted to our cause. He 
was one of the first to make an effort to establish 
Universalism in Southern Ohio. Although a layman 
he often spoke in public in its defense. Subsequent- 
ly he moved to Illinois ; but he carried his religion 
and zeal with him. He died full of years, and went 
down to an honored grave. 

Spoke in Columbus on religion, and delivered a 
discourse against the death penalty. Universalism 
repudiates the taking of life. It is wrong for an indi- 
vidual to kill a man ; it is wrong for a state to kill a 
man. But taking of life may sometimes be justifia- 
ble. Is this a contradiction ? A wretch enters my 
house at midnight, and attempts to murder my fam- 
ily. Either he must be disabled, or he will kill the 
whole household. In attempting to disable him I 
take his life. Am I not justified, although I have 
violated the command, "Thou shaft not kill?" An 
army marches through the land, and takes provisions 
for man and beast, without permission of the owners. 
Are they not justified, although they have violated 
the command, u Thou shalt not steal?" A vessel 
enters a port laden with food ; the inhabitants are 
starving, but the owner refuses to sell or give to the 
starving citizens. Are they not justified in helping 
themselves, although in doing so they commit theft? 
They must either steal or die ; and of the two evils 
they choose the least. It is wrong to steal, but it is 
a greater wrong to die if one can avoid it.. So it is 
wrong to kill a man, but a greater wrong is commit- 
ted when an assassin kills an innocent man. But 
when a murderer is in custody, the safety of no one 
requires that his life shall be taken. Put him in 
prison, and keep him there till he becomes a safe man 
in the community, and if he never reforms, keep him 
there for life. 

The world's mode of dealing with offenders is radi- 
cally wrong ; there is too much of the leaven of 



76 TWENTY-FIVE YEABS 

revenge in it. They should be treated as morally 
insane, rather than as criminals. Our penitentiaries 
should be converted into moral reform schools, and 
transgressors should be put there, and retained there, 
till well qualified persons, who scrutinizes their con- 
duct every day, pronounce them regenerated. And 
he, who may be sent there for stealing one dollar, 
should remain there till he is no longer a thief, and if 
he resists all efforts to reform him, keep him there as 
long as he lives. It is better for him, and for society, 
that he should be thus excluded from the world. 
Man has no right to punish his brother man ; God 
has established laws, and if they are violated punish- 
ment is sure to follow ; and it is our duty to reform 
the erring. This mode of treatment accords with the 
gospel, and the spirit of Christ, but the penitentiary, 
the gallows, and the guillotine, correspond with the 
spirit of Orthodoxy. 

When a great crime is committed our blood boils, 
and we cry aloud for vengeance ; but a little correct 
reflection on such occasions will do us no harm. The 
criminal inherited a bad moral organization, and was, 
perhaps, surrounded by evil associates from the cra- 
dle to manhood. All this should be considered in 
dealing with the fallen ; but the law of man sees it 
not, considers it not. He is deemed equally as blam- 
able as his associate in crime, who was brought up 
under the most favorable circumstances. But there 
is a great difference between the criminality of the 
two. The latter sins against much more light than 
the former, and is a greater criminal in the sight of 
God. Most of offenders come into this world "half 
made up," and are educated in crime from infancy 
upward. Let the state take them under its special 
care and keeping ; protect society from their depreda- 
tions, and strive to make better men and women of 
such unfortunates. 

Preached in Newark and Zanesville. In the form- 



IN THE WEST. 77 

er place a preacher deemed it his duty to oppose me, 
but lie did it in a very gentlemanly manner. The 
subject of my discourse was hell, and the following 
was the gist of it: 1st. The Bible no where asserts 
that hell is beyond the grave, and in the immortal 
world. On the contrary, it teaches that it is on the 
earth. The lawgiver, Moses, locates it here. " For 
a fire is kindled in my wrath, and shall burn unto the 
lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her 
increase, 'and set on fire the foundations of the moun- 
tains. I will heap mischief upon them ; I will spend 
my arrows upon them. They shall be burned with 
hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with 
bitter destruction ; I will also send the teeth of beasts 
upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. 
The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy 
both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also 
with the man of gray hairs. I said, I would scatter 
them into corners, I would make the remembrance of 
them to cease from among men. To me belongeth 
vengeance and recompense ; their foot shall slide in 
due time : for the day of their calamity is at hand, 
and the things that shall come upon them make 
haste." Moses here tells his countrymen what would 
be the consequences if they should be unfaithful to 
the trust committed to them. The Lord would " hide 
his face from them," "vengeance would overtake 
them," "the day of their calamity would be at 
hand," " they would be scattered into all parts of the 
earth," " the sword without and terror within would 
destroy them," they would be " burnt with hunger," 
All these calamities are expressed by the words, 
"lowest hell;" and the history of that remarkable 
nation shows that the prophecy has been fulfilled. 
That nation has been cast down to the lowest hell. 
David testifies that the results of sin are not far off. 
" The pains of hell got hold of me ; I found trouble 
and sorrow." Jesus said to the scribes and Phari- 



f 8 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

sees, " Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers ! how can 
ye escape the damnation of hell." Matt, xxiii. 33. 
And then he adds, "All these things shall come upon 
this generation." 2d. Hell is no where in the Bible 
said to be endless ; and who has a right to assume 
that it is endless in duration? Popes, bishops and 
councils have threatened the world with endless tor- 
ment, if it did not bow to their yoke, but thank God 
our destiny is not in their hands. 3d. We have no 
information of the creation of such a place as Ortho- 
doxy proclaims. "We read of God creating the heav- 
ens and the earth, and all therein, but not a word 
about his building a vast prison in which to torment 
countless millions of his creatures world without end. 
It is blasphemy to charge the God of love with such 
work. God is good, and all his works are good. 
"When creation was finished all things were pronounc- 
ed good. An eternal hell then is no part of God's 
work. Let this be remembered. 4th. The New 
Testament never speaks of any one being saved from 
hell. It was the mission of Jesus to save us from 
sin, from darkness, from a lost condition, from slavery, 
from the ^present evil world, but there is not an inti- 
mation in the New Testament that God sent his Son 
to save us from a hell of his own creating. 5th. The 
word hell in the Bible does not signify, according to 
good authority, a place of ceaseless woe. Dr. Adam 
Clarke, the well known commentator, says: "The 
word hell, used in the common translation, conveys 
now an improper meaning of the original word ; be- 
cause hell is only used to signify the place of the 
damned. But as the word hell comes from the 
Anglo-Saxon helan, to cover, to hide, hence the tyling 
or slating of a house is called, in some parts of En- 
gland, (particularly . Cornwall,) heling, to this day ; 
and the covers of books, (in Lancashire,) by the same 
name." This admission is fatal to the common 
received views of hell. 6th. The word hell in the 



m THE WEST. 19 

Old Testament, is taken from the Hebrew term sheol, 
and learned men of all schools admit, that it signifies 
the state of the dead in general, without regard to 
their condition. Dr. George Campbell remarks as 
follows : " Sheol in itself considered, has no connec- 
tion with future punishment." Dr. Whitby, a pro- 
found English scholar tells us, that " Sheol through- 
out the Old Testament signifies not a place of punish- 
ment, or of the souls of bad men only, but the grave 
only, or the place of the dead." Other critics admit 
the same. 7th. In the New Testament, the word hell 
is translated from the Greek term hades, and as that 
is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew sheol, its mean- 
ing is the same as its corresponding word. Hence 
Dr. Campbell says, "Hades occurs eleven times in 
the New Testament, and is rendered grave once, and 
hell ten times. In my judgment, it ought never in 
Scripture to be rendered hell, at least in the sense 
wherein that word is universally understood by Chris- 
tians. In the Old Testament the corresponding word 
is sheol, which signifies the state of the dead in gen- 
eral, without regard to the goodness or badness of the 
persons, their happiness or misery. It is very plain 
that neither in the Septuagint version of the Old Tes- 
tament, nor in the New, does the word hades convey 
the meaning which the present English word hell, in 
the Christian usage, always conveys to our minds. 
The attempt to illustrate this would be unnecessary, 
as it is hardly now pretended by any critic that this is 
the acception of the term in the Old Testament." 
8th. The word hell in the New Testament in twelve 
instances, is taken from the Greek term gehenna, and 
Orthodox scholars thus define that word : " Gehenna 
is a Hebrew word denoting a place near Jerusalem, 
in which the Israelites, giving themselves up to idola- 
try, sacrificed children to a heated image of Moloch, 
which represented the form of an ox. This place, the 
valley of Hinnom, the Jews afterwards so detested, 



80 TWENTY-FIVE TEARS 

that they were accustomed to cast into it the unburied 
carcasses of those whom they desired to punish with 
unusual severity. It is called a gehenna of r fire, bo- 
cause Josiah, in order to render the valley of Hinnom 
more odious, commanded that filth and dead carcasses 
should be cast into it; for the burning of which there 
was kept a perpetual fire." 2 Kings xxiii. 10, et seq. 
This is the testimony of Dr. Rosenmuller, and it 
is the testimony of all the learned, belong to what 
denomination they may. This is the literal meaning 
of the word, twelve times rendered hell in the New 
Testament. Figuratively, it refers to the temporal 
desolation that was soon to befall the Jewish nation. 
The damnation of gehenna overwhelmed Jerusalem, 
the whole land, and the people. Jesus told his coun- 
trymen that they had filled up the measure of their 
inquity, that the vials of wrath and fiery indignation 
were about to be poured upon them, that on them 
would come all the righteous blood their nation had 
spilt. When these things shall come to pass, said 
Jesus, " there shall be great tribulation, such as was 
not since the beginning of the world to this time." 
He told them over and over, that all these things 
would come on that generation. Theologians now 
locate all that in yonder world. They might as well 
assert, that the Ohio valley is the name of a place be- 
yond the grave, and the destruction that befell the 
Indians therein is immortal woe in a post moi'tem hell. 
The gentleman said I was partly right and partly 
wrong. I met him several years after, and he was 
then preaching the annihilation of the wicked. He 
had made some progress, for it is certainly better to 
burn men to ashes than to burn them forever. I lec- 
tured in McConnersville, and became acquainted with 
Mrs. Frances Gage, who since then has been before 
the public as a writer and lecturer on temperance and < 
woman's rights. Notwithstanding her limited educa- 
tion, she writes good poetry and prose, and is a supe- 



IN THE WEST. 81 

rior lecturer. She is a noble woman, and devotes 
her life to noble purposes. Spent several days in 
Marietta, a beautiful town on the Ohio river. I was 
urged to remain there, and the society offered me five 
hundred dollars per year, a liberal salary for the 
times, but I declined. I was fearful that I could not 
sustain myself in preaching at one place all the time. 
The friends there had no idea but I could, but I 
fancied that I knew myself better than they did. 
Preached in Belpre. Stopped with General Put- 
nam, a descendent of the revolutionary hero of that 
name — a splendid man, and a devoted believer in 
the restitution of all things. Here I also met with 
"W. H. Jolly, an early pioneer preacher. He traveled 
most of the time • through the wilderness of Ohio, 
preaching in private houses, school-houses, barns, and 
wherever he could have a hearing. He received but 
a small compensation, his whole soul was in the work, 
and he was dearly beloved by his fellow believers. 
He died soon after I saw him, but he is still remem- 
bered as a devoted and good man. He had a daugh- 
ter, a young lady, who wrote well for our periodicals. 
She afterwards married, and I do not know what has 
become of her. 

I preached in Richmond and Chill icothe. In the 
former place the meetings caused considerable excite- 
ment, which brought out a preacher against me. He 
abused me, my faith, and every body that entertained 
it. He was a regular blackguard, and a son of thun- 
der. My clothes being rather seedy, the friends, as a 
compensation for my labor, presented me with a new 
suit, and I went on my way rejoicing. A clergyman 
of the liberal faith, by the name of Wood, resided 
and preached in Richmond. He, however, soon after 
left there, moved to Patriot, Ind., ceased to preach, 
was, for one or two sessions, a member of the Indiana 
Legislature, and finally died insane. He was a wor- 
thy man, but was too easily discouraged to be a min- 



82 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

ister in the "West in those days. Delivered lectures 
in several places in Highland county. Became ac- 
quainted with a brother by the name of Webber, 
who soon after commenced preaching. After labor- 
ing about ten years in Ohio, he moved to Scotland 
county, Mo., where he died, after traveling and 
preaching in that state two or three years. His lone 
grave is on the wide and wild prairie. The last time 
I saw it a frail fence enclosed his resting place, and 
that, ere this, has probably disappeared. 

I returned to Cincinnati M3y, 1839. Had been 
absent five months, delivered ninety-three discourses, 
and traveled six hundred miles. The succeeding 
nine months were spent in Ohio, Indiana and Ken- 
tucky. Delivered a series of discourses in "Warsaw, 
Ky., which awakened much interest. Dr. Chamber- 
lin, a wealthy and influential citizen of that place, 
had recently embraced the better faith. He had been 
a member of the Campbellite church, and all who 
knew him, freely admitted that his new faith had 
made a new man of him. It expanded his soul, and 
opened his hand and his purse. His wealth, time 
and talent, and the latter was of a superior order, were 
devoted to the upbuilding of the truth. He distribu- 
ted hundreds of volumes of our denominational books 
through Kentucky, and was ever ready to aid every 
effort to advance the good cause. He subsequently 
moved to Burlington, Iowa, donated to every TJniver- 
salist society in Iowa one hundred and sixty acres of 
land, and, I think, gave the Lombard College, in 
Galesburg, 111., ten thousand dollars in cash, besides 
many valuable books and a collection of American 
antiquities. Lectured three times in Lexington, Ky. 
One of the ministers in town delivered a philippic 
against the new faith ; said Universalism was a spe- 
cies of infidelity. I asked, what is there infidel about 
it? It asserts, that there a God, who rules in heaven 
and on earth, and in who we live, move and have our 



m THE WEST. 83 

being. Is that infidelity? It teaches that Jesus 
Christ is the Son of God, and Savior of the world. 
Is that infidelity ? Jt declares that God will surely 
and fully reward every virtue, and surely and fully 
punish every vice. Is that infidelity ? It proclaims 
that man is an immortal being, and destined to ad- 
vance onward and upward forever and ever. Is that 
infidelity? It asserts, that our greatest happiness 
consists in communing with God, and leading a pure 
and virtuous life. Is that infidelity? Portions of 
your system, sir, are worse than infidelity. You are 
a Calvinist, and in the language of John Wesley, 
" You may call me an infidel, a Turk, a Mahomedan, 
but don't call me a Calvinist. I had rather believe 
in no God than believe he is an almighty tyrant." 
You believe in a burning hell in which God will 
plunge most of the dead, to be his victims eternally. 
Is there any thing in the baldest infidelity half as 
infernal as that ? You believe that God creates us all 
totally depraved, not capable of thinking a good 
thought or performing a good act, and if we do not 
change our nature, he will roast us in hell forever. 
And then to cap the climax of infamy, you teach that 
God decreed from all eternity, that the victims of per- 
dition should be born totally depraved, should live a 
wicked live, and in the end should fall into the bot- 
tomless pit. If your creed is religion, give me infi- 
delity. To exchange the latter for the former, would 
be exchanging heaven for hell. 

I also lectured several times near Lexington, at the 
request of a venerable man by the name of Taylor, a 
relative of President Taylor. Several years after, I 
heard Dr. Young, a Methodist minister, tell the fol- 
lowing story in his pulpit at St. Louis, about Mr. 
Taylor and an imaginary clergyman : " There lived 
an old and rich man near Lexington, Ky., by the 
name of Taylor, who was a Universalist. Some time 
since, he sent to Cincinnati for a preacher of his 



84 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

choice to come and preach for him, and the preacher 
having performed his labor, Mr. T. paid him one hun- 
dred dollars. All right; preachers should be paid 
for their work like other folks. Some time after, the 
preacher visited him again, by Mr. T.'s request, and 
he again paid him one hundred dollars. He did 
right," added Dr. Young. " When the preacher was 
about departing, he told the old man he needed live 
hundred dollars, and would be much obliged if Mr. 
Taylor would lend him that sum for a short time. 
He lent it to him, and to this day the debt has not 
been cancelled. The old man renounced his Univer- 
salism, and died a Methodist. If any of you doubt 
the truth of this story, I tell you it is as true as the 
gospel, for I know all about it." I called on the 
gentleman the next day and asked him if he was ac- 
quainted with Mr. Taylor. 

"No." 

" Do you know any of his relatives ?" 

"No." 

" But you said yesterday that you knew all about 
this matter." 

" Brother Kavanagh told it to me, and he learned 
it from a brother in Kentucky." 

" Now, sir, I knew Mr. Taylor, and I suppose that 
I am the preacher you referred to, and I pronounce 
the whole story, save that Mr. T. was a Universalist, 
and that I preached in his neighborhood,/*:^." 

" Oh, this took place a long time ago, before your 
day." 

I took occasion to lecture him for telling slanderous 
tales about the living or the dead on mere hearsay. 
Mr. Taylor took me to Kichmond, where I spoke 
twice. Two men came to me at the close of one of 
the meetings ; their hearts were full. They thanked 
God that the scales had fallen from their eyes, and 
that they beheld the gospel in all its heavenly beauty. 
I also preached in Paris, Flemingsburg, and many 



m THE WEST. 85 

other places in Kentucky. In one place, I remember 
that in the middle of a sermon I had a hard ague 
chill, and had to stop half an hour, when I resumed 
my discourse. 

The new meeting-house in Patriot, Ind., was to be 
dedicated, and a large party of Cincinnatians em- 
ployed a boat to take them down and back. It was 
a delightful excursion. We had music and dancing, 
talking and promenading. George Rogers and E. M. 
Pingree were of the party — both are now in heaven, 
I trust. We three did the preaching. J. L. Johnson 
was installed pastor of the church. He had been a 
Methodist, his faith was now enlarged, but he retain- 
ed many of his old notions, and all his Orthodox 
phraseology, and consequently he had poor success. 
He soon left us and returned to his mother church. 
About this time I attended a discussion in New Rich- 
mond, Ohio, between Robert Smith, and a Mr. Fish- 
er, a Methodist layman. Mr. F. was an able man, and 
better qualified to defend his cause than three fourths 
of the preachers of his order. Both being strong 
men, the discussion was very interesting. Daniel 
Parker resided there, and had long been in the minis- 
try. He called himself a Restorationist, and would 
not associate with Universalists. I suppose his views 
corresponded with those of Elhanan "Winchester. 
He was a disorganizer, would not form societies, but 
was a very sincere, devout and good man. He 
preached one evening, and in the miclst of his sermon 
he buried his face in his hands, and wept like a child. 
I recollect that he said in his sermon, that he had 
never believed in Universalism one minute in all his 
life. In his old age, I have understood, he joined the 
Baptist church. 

My health continued feeble, not having recovered 
from the. ague engendered in the South, but it did not 
confine me in-doors a day. I had a slight chill every 
day, succeeded by an inward fever, which kept me in 



86 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

a debilitated condition. Occasionally though I had a 
violent shake. Often when riding, I would have an 
attack of the ague, when I would stop two or three 
hours, and then resume my journey. I took all sorts 
of medicines, but nothing did me any good. It final- 
ly occurred to me that breakfast might have some 
connection with my ague, as it returned every morn- 
ing soon after eating. I refrained from partaking of 
breakfast for a week, and the ague did not trouble 
me. Two or three times afterwards my morning 
ague returned, but abstaining from breakfast always 
prevented a relapse. I was soon entirely free from 
it, and since then, with the exception of two attacks 
of billious fever, one in St. Louis, and one in Chi- 
cago, brought on in both cases by walking and riding 
in the blazing sun, and preaching too much, I have 
enjoyed perfect health. I certainly have reason to be 
thankful .for the good health I have enjoyed, and for 
innumerable other blessings, temporal and spiritual. 



m THE WEST. 87 



CHAPTER VI. 



A. Journey East — Talk with a Baptist Minister — Preached in Del- 
aware and Centerville, Ohio — W. T. Emmett — Doors Closed — 
A. Bond — A. B. Grosh — In New England — On the Sea — A Storm 
— Methodist Preacher Frightened — Blow the Trumpet — In Phil- 
adelphia — In Delaware — In Pittsburg — Returned to Cincinnati. 
— Go to Chicago — Bad Roads — In Richmond — Talk with a Quak- 
er — A Spirit Returns to Earth — A Spirit Out op the Body — A 
Strange Sight — Preach in God's Temple — Preach in Chicago — 
Preach in Joliet — Aaron Kinney, an Early Preacher — Bill of 
Fare — Hard Luck in Magnolia — Why Preach — In Hennepin — 
Political Humbugs — Opposition in Washington — Justice op God 
— L\ Pekin and Tremont — Frozen — A Preacher Replies. 

George Rogers had traveled in the Southern states, 
and was urged either to return or send some one to 
preach to the people. He could not go, and at his 
solicitation, I consented to journey in Kentucky, Tenn- 
essee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North and 
South Carolina; and from thence I purposed going by 
sea to Boston, Mass. February, 1840, with horse and 
buggy, I started from Cincinnati on what I expected 
would be a long and hard journey, through a thinly 
settled region, and among strangers. Crossed the 
Ohio river, and traveled about ten miles on a splendid 
pike. But at the end of the pike the sublime and 
ridiculous joined hands. Horse and buggy plunged 
from the hard, dry and smooth road into an ocean of 
mud and water. This enlightened me concerning the 
condition of the roads generally, and after floundering 
in the mud awhile, I succeeded in getting back to dry 
land, and returned to Cincinnati, and abandoned my 
contemplated southern journey. 

I then resolved to go East through Ohio, Pennsyl- 
vania, New York and Massachusetts, and in a few 



88 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

days after I recrossed the Ohio river, I was on my 
way, on horseback, to the noted city of Boston. I 
performed the whole journey, about one thousand 
miles, on horseback, and it occupied six weeks. I 
went East to visit my mother, and hurried through as 
fast as possible. But I could not travel very fast, as 
the roads were in a bad condition, and the weather 
was often stormy. Preached in Woodstock, to large 
assemblies. Spent three days very pleasantly in vis- 
iting kind friends, and in talking to the people. A 
society was subsequently formed and a meeting-house 
erected. Cyrus F. Wait, then a youth, attended my 
meetings. lie soon after commenced preaching, and 
labored faithfully in the ministry till 1865, when he 
laid down his armor and ascended to his God. He 
lived and labored in Woodstock most of the time he 
was in the ministry, was an efficient preacher and an 
excellent man. I delivered several sermons in Dela- 
ware, and had the following conversation with a Bap- 
tist clergyman : 

"You preached in town last night, did you?" 
"Yes." 

" If you are right, I cannot be wrong." 
"If I am right in my religious views, you are radi- 
cally wrong in yours, for I expect we essentially dif- 
fer. If my views of God, Christ, heaven, hell, man, 
rewards and punishments, are correct, you are in 
error, of course, wherein you differ from me. Any 
one with half an eye, and that nearly out, can see 
that," 

" Well, I am safe if TTniversalism is true." 
" You are in a lost condition if it is true. He only 
is safe whose life is in harmony with the truth. Your 
mind, I perceive, from your conversation, is darkened 
by a false theology. 4 Know the truth,' said Jesus, 
' and the truth shail make you free.' ' Sanctify them 
through thy truth, thy word is truth.' J esus attached 
great importance to receiving the truth. You are 



IN THE WEST. 89 

walking in darkness, and see that you do not stumble. 
Truth is a lamp to the feet, and a guide to the soul. 
"We cannot walk safely without that light." 

" But I shall be saved as well as you if Universal- 
ism is of God." 

" You will be saved when your soul shall be sancti- 
fied by the truth, and not till then. Universalism 
promises no salvation, in this world or the world to 
come, without purity of heart. Let that be remem- 
bered." 

" But I thought you believed we should all be saved 
any how." 

" You thought wrong. There is only one way to 
be saved, and that is, by having our souls baptized 
with the truth. Those thus baptized are saved, heav- 
en now reigns in their souls, the kingdom of God, 
which is righteousness, joy and peace in the Holy 
Spirit, is within them. That is the salvation Jesus 
lived, labored and died to bless man with." 

Delivered a discourse in Circleville, and formed the 
acquaintance of W. Y. Emmett. He has long been 
known in Ohio as a faithful minister of the New Tes- 
tament. His father was a Methodist clergyman, but 
the son has greatly improved on the theology of the 
father. There are three steps from extreme error, in 
religion, to truth — Calvinism, Armenianism, Univer- 
salism. Perhaps Br. Emmett's grand-father was a 
Calvinist. Passing on, I lectured several times in 
Ashtabula, but sectarianism taking alarm, all doors 
were closed against me, and I proceeded to Conneaut- 
ville. Ammi Bond resided there. He has recently 
died. His ministry was confined, chiefly, to the 
northeast part of Ohio, and to contiguous portions of 
Pennsylvania. His personal appearance was attract- 
ive ; had a well formed head, a Grecian face, and 
the soul within corresponded with the outer man. 
From here I proceeded more rapidly on my journey. 
Called on A. B. Grosh, Utica, ~N. Y., who was then 



90 TWENTY-FIVE TEAES 

publishing The Gospel Advocate. He possesses fine 
ability, and is, every way, a noble man. Crossed the 
Hudson river, at Troy, and after six weeks traveling 
reached Princeton, Mass., where my mother resided. 
Yisited my old home in Haverhill, and shed a tear 
over my brother's grave in Plaistow, N. H., attended 
a Conference meeting in Boston, and then sailed from 
Boston for Philadelphia, in the brig Mary Ann, com- 
manded by Captain Chase. We encountered a tre- 
mendous storm — an equinoctial storm — which made 
the vessel roll and plunge at a fearful rate, and set the 
sailors to telling stories of shipwrecks, ghosts, and 
home. The captain, who was a member of one of 
our societies on Cape Cod, related the following of a 
Methodist preacher: — The previous season there was 
a terrible storm off that coast, and many vessels were 
lost. A friend of his, who ran a vessel between JSTew 
York and Boston, was out in it, and during the hard- 
est of the gale, in a pitch-black night, he was trying 
to weather Cape Cod, to get into a sheltered position. 
He had a Methodist preacher on board. About mid- 
night, when it was dark as Egypt, the wind howl- 
ing, the waves dashing, and the vessel plunging, he 
went into the cabin dripping with salt water, when 
the preacher said, " Captain, how are we getting 
along?" The captain replied, "We are drifting 
towards the shore very fast, and we shall all be in 
heaven before morning." " God forbid" said the 
clergyman. This reminds me of a courageous preach- 
er in Indiana. Some boatmen, after toiling all night 
in a flat-boat on White river, tied up their craft, and 
sought a place to rest. They selected a barn for that 
purpose. Over its floor was a scaffold covered with 
hay, on which they laid their weary bodies to repose. 
Being much fatigued they slept sound and long. 
When they awoke, they found that there was a con- 
gregation worshiping on the floor below, for it was 
Sunday morning, The preacher was in the midst of 



IN THE WEST. 91 

his theme — the judgment day, that day for which all 
days were made. He had got to where the saints 
were about to be raised, and he, of course, was one of 
them. "O-ah," said he, "I want to go-ah; I am 
tired-ah of this wicked-ak world-ah;" and looking 
straight at the roof of the barn, he cried as loud as he 
could scream, " Gabriel- ah, Gabriel-ah, blow-ah that 
trumpet-ah, that I-ah may leave-ah this ungodly-ah 
world-ah, and go to heaven-ah. I-ah say-ah, Gabriel- 
ah, blow-ah that-ah trumpet-ah this-ah minute-ah." 
The boatmen had a tin horn, and one gave a loud 
blast, which made every worshiper bound to his feet. 
The preacher stopped short, cast one agonizing glance 
upward, and then leaped through and over his flock 
out of the barn, and ran home as fast as his legs would 
carry him. One old lady, in her haste to get out of 
the way of Gabriel, broke a limb. 

In Philadelphia I was introduced to Asher Moore, 
a well known minister in the East. Z. Fuller, for 
many years an influential clergyman in that city, had 
recently died. Being anxious to return to my west- 
ern field of labor, I tarried but a few hours in P. 
Proceeded over the mountains to Pittsburg, by rail- 
road and stage, where I delivered several discourses. 
From thence I went in a steamboat to Cincinnati; 
and in a few days, was on the road to Chicago. 

A journey to Chicago from Cincinnati was not as 
easily, or as quickly made in those days as it is now. 
Instead of a few hours, it took about two weeks of 
hard traveling to perform the journey. Instead of a 
smooth, iron road, it was about the roughest and soft- 
est road ever traveled by man or beast. Parts of it 
were railway, but the rails were unhewed logs, and 
laid across the track, which endangered the horse's 
legs and carriage wheels. Portions of the year it was 
hard to find the bottom of the mud. It was indeed a 
rough and terrible road most of the way through ; 
and the driver had to keep both eyes open to avoid 



92 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

stumps, holes and quagmires, and often with good 
eyes, and they used to the best advantage, he did not 
escape shipwreck. Preached in Richmond, Ind., four 
times. This is a Quaker town. Had a long conver- 
sation with a preacher of that order. 

" You do not pray in public ?" 

" No ; Christ enjoined secret prayer." 

" True ; but he prayed in the presence of others, 
and on the cross prayed in the presence of thousands, 
' Father, forgive them for they know not what they 
do.' The seventeenth chapter of John is a prayer 
uttered in the presence of his disciples. The apostle 
Paul, on one occasion, kneeled on the sea shore in the 
midst of a large assembly, and vocally invoked the 
divine blessing. And most of good men and good 
women in all ages and in all climes, whether Christian 
or Pagan, have sanctioned the practice. The tongue 
loves to speak what the heart feels, and a prayer 
straight from the heart, often has more influence on 
an assembly than a good sermon. Of course, it is a 
great sin to pray or preach ' to be seen of men,' but 
praying and preaching with the spirit and the under- 
standing, are heaven-appointed means to christianize 
the soul. There is, doubtless, much hypocritical 
praying as well as preaching, but the abuse of a good 
thing is not a valid reason for its abandonment. You 
oppose singing, I understand. Why do you 3" 

" The Friends in their worship are governed by the 
spirit, and singing is an art, taught and learned, 
hence they exclude it from their worship." 

" Learning to read is an art, and yet you read the 
Bible. Speaking correctly is an art, but you culti- 
vate correct speaking in your meetings. The spirit 
does not teach you how to read or how to speak. 
Music is a science of which God is the author, and in 
studying music we learn of the wisdom of G-od, and 
in singing we sing his praise. A good hymn sung 
correctly is a sermon and a prayer; it unites the 



IN THE WEST. 93 

hearts of all who hear, and stirs the soul to its depths. 
Why do you all wear the same style of dress V 

" Because we abhor fashions" 

"But it seems to me that your people are great 
lovers of fashion. There is a Quaker fashion, and 
you all, men, women and children, stick to it through 
thick and thin. If one of your members deviates 
from your fashion he is dealt with as an offender. 
You do not run after every fashion, but you adopt the 
fashion of the times of Charles II., and will make no 
improvement. I despise fashion more than you do, 
for I consult my own taste, and not the frivolous 
whims of crack-brains in the nineteenth or sixteenth 
century." 

A gentleman here told me a singular story. A 
physician and a lawyer lived in Richmond ; they were 
intimate friends, and spent much time together. 
Both were zealous infidels, and they promised each 
other, that the one that should die first, if he lived 
after death, would return to his friend left on earth if 
he was able to do so. The physician died, but the 
survivor thought not of the promise, for he was sure 
death had spared nothing of his friend. Several 
months after the physician's death, the lawyer was 
astonished to see his departed friend enter his office. 
He slowly approached the couch on which he was 
lying, for it was night, and reminded him of their 
mutual promise; said he had made several efforts 
before to visit him but failed ; tolcl him that both of 
them were mistaken about death ; that the man did 
not die ; he only put off the body and entered on a 
higher sphere of existence, and that most of mankind 
were in error concerning the second stage of life, that 
being much more like this world than many imagined. 
After an affectionate adieu, he disappeared, promising 
to return, if possible, but he saw him no more. The 
gentleman related the circumstance to his friends, 
and they, of course, laughed at him, and said he was 



94 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

• 

crazy or asleep, whereupon he went before a magis- 
trate and testified under oath, that what he related 
was strictly correct. He was ever after a believer in 
immortality ; he said he knew there was a future life, 
for he had seen one from the land beyond the vale. 

A gentleman in Ohio related to me the following : 
He ran a flouring mill, located at the foot of a hill, on 
the top of which was his residence. His aged father 
often spent an hour or two in the mill. One day he 
observed him enter the building, with staff in hand, 
and after remaining a few minutes, walked out. 
Nothing was said by either party, and several times 
they passed within three or four feet of each other. 
Stepping to the door soon after the old gentleman 
went out, he saw his father slowly ascending the hill 
to the house. He immediately had occasion to go to 
the house, and not seeing his father, inquired for him, 
and was informed that he was lying down. He went 
into his room and found him asleep, and was told he 
had been on the bed a full hour. 

Another intelligent friend related the following: 
His family and another family occupied one house in 
an Ohio town — the former the front, and the lat- 
ter the rear part of the building, and a gate, two 
feet from the front door, was the entrance to the rear 
of the house. The gate swung hard on its hinges, 
and with much noise. About ten at night, my in- 
formant, from his front door, observed a person on 
the sidewalk approaching the house ; having a pecu- 
liar appearance, he requested his wife to step to the 
door and see who it was. To both he seemed a 
stranger, and both remarked that he made no noise 
walking on the stone pavement. When opposite the 
gate, and two feet from where they were standing, he 
turned and passed through the gateway to the rear of 
the building out of sight. Supposing the gate was 
open, as the traveler did not stop to open it, the gen- 
tleman stepped aside to close it, when, to his atouish- 



IN THE WEST. 95 

ment, lie found it shut. On opening the gate he 
found that it made as loud a report, and required as 
much effort as usual. Not being able to account for 
all this, he inquired of his neighbor if any one had 
called, and was answered, nay. That night a woman 
in the rear part of the building died. It is quite 
fashionable to cry humbug and delusion, when such 
stories are related ; but I do not raise that cry, neither 
have I a satisfactory explanation of them to offer. The 
history and tradition of all nations and people are 
full of what seems to be the supernatural ; and if that 
part is all false, how can we credit the balance of their 
history ? But most people, after all, have, at least, 
some vague impressions, that the departed have some- 
thing to do with the world they once inhabited. And 
why should they not ? 

I had an appointment in a Methodist meeting-house 
in Washington ; and while the congregation was as- 
sembling, the pastor of the church told us we could not 
occupy the house ; such abominable sentiments should 
not be promulgated in the Methodist meeting-house. 
I told the congregation, as we were not allowed to 
occupy the Methodist house, we would adjourn to the 
house of the Lord — a beautiful grove. This being 
an unexpected reply, and part of the congregation 
being rather pleased, the preacher good-naturedly 
said I might say what I pleased in the Methodist 
house. Yisited many places where I had before 
spoken, and reached Chicago, August, 1840, where 
I preached three Sabbaths, and then proceeded to 
Joliet. Lectured there three times. We have now 
a society in that place, and a splendid meeting-house. 
Aaron Kinney then resided in Joliet, and preached 
there and in the region round about. He subse- 
quently moved % to Farmington, 111., where he and his 
wife died. He was one of the first ministers of our 
faith in Illinois, and he labored under many disadvan- 
tages. Liberal Christians were few in number, for 



96 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

tlie country was thinly populated, and he consequent- 
ly was poorly supported. But he persevered in the 
good work till death closed his labors. Delivered 
one discourse in Peru, but did not find a soul that 
sympathized with me. The congregation was large, 
but all seemed to be afraid of me. I was informed 
of a friend, who resided a few miles below on the 
canal, which was then being excavated. Spent one 
night with him ; and although he seemed to be a good 
kind of a man, he lived like a hog. The bill of fare 
for the night was, 1st, A hot night ; 2d, A dirty bed; 
3d, An army of bed-bugs; 4th, Ditto, fleas; 5th, 
Ditto, musquitoes. I was glad to leave the dirty 
hole. Beached Magnolia in the night; and after 
being refused lodging at half of the houses in the vil- 
lage, a poor drunken man took me in. He treated 
me to the best his cabin afforded, which was poor 
enough. Found some friends the next day, and 
delivered several discourses before I left town. A 
preacher could not let me pass without a hit. 

" If this man," said he, " is correct, he is a fool for 
traveling about this new country preaching. If I be- 
lieved as he does, I would never preach again." 

"My friend," I replied, "I preach the truth. 1st, 
Because it is the truth ; 2d, Because I love the truth ; 
3d, Because truth benefits man. But you seem to 
have more regard for party than for truth. Any- 
thing that is not found there you care nothing about, 
let it be ever so valuable. You need to be baptized 
with the spirit of truth, for you have been baptized 
only with the spirit of some party. Jesus, whom you 
profess to follow, but really run away from, was an 
ardent lover of the truth. He toiled, bled and died 
for the truth. He cared nothing about party, but he 
was as true to the truth as the needle is to the pole. 
He never varied from it one iota in the darkest hour 
of his life. When I hear men talk as you have to-day, 
I know that they know nothing of the spirit of Christ." 



IN THE WEST. 97 

Lectured in Hennipen several times. Dr. Pulsifer 
had recently moved there from the East, and took 
much interest in getting up the meetings. Have often 
been there since, and always found him to be a faith- 
ful friend. I met here several families which had 
formerly resided in the East, and were there regular 
attendants at the sanctuary, but had not heard a dis- 
course on the Restitution for several years ; and it 
made their hearts leap with joy to attend a meeting 
of their choice. "_Thank God,'' said one lady, " for 
the blessed privilege of hearing the gospel of our 
salvation once more, before I go hence. The Lord 
be with you ; and may you long live to proclaim 
the unsearchable riches of Christ to fallen, sinful 
man." 

During this year was the noted presidential cam- 
paign, when General Harrison and Martin Yan Buren 
were candidates for the White House, and the whole 
country was in an uproar. The air was vocal with 
" Tippecanoe and Tyler too," and log cabins, and 
cider barrels were moving in all directions at the beat 
of the drum. The Democrats disdained such hum- 
buggery, and lost the day, but after that they were not 
a whit behind the Whigs in all sorts of tomfoolery. 
Whisky, beer, and such senseless exhibitions, often 
command more votes than a just cause. This is a 
lamentable and humiliating fact, and the evil will 
continue till intelligence and virtue are the ruling 
spirits of the land. Meeting a boy eight or ten years 
old in the road one day, he cried, " Hurrah for Har- 
rison." Wanting some amusement, I said, "You 
rascally tory !" " Well, then," said he, as quick as 
lightning, and jumping from the ground, "hurrah 
for Dick Johnson and his black ones." That was a 
poser for a Democrat, for Richard M. Johnson, who 
was the candidate for the Yice Presidency on the 
Democratic ticket, was the father of several darkies. 
If that boy is living, he is doubtless now one of our 



98 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

stump orators. I made no reply to the little politi- 
cian, but left him alone in his glory. 

Lectured in Washington. A preached delivered a 
discourse against the Great Salvation. His chief 
argument was based on what he termed " the justice 
of God." The justice of God requires the endless 
punishment of the wicked. Some of my remarks 
in reply were as follows : What the preacher calls 
justice is injustice, is malignity, dark, cruel, infernal 
malignity. Because frail, finite man, worm of the 
dust, steps aside from the line of duty, and thereby 
harms himself, and no one else, the Creator of heaven 
and earth must pounce upon him with the wrath and 
vengeance of a thousand tigers, and pursue him from 
the cradle to the grave, from the grave to the resur- 
rection, from the resurrection to the infernal regions, 
and there commission the devil and all his crew to 
keep up the chase through the length and depth of 
hell forever and ever. Why, justice would turn pale 
at such injustice. But to make out that such cruelty 
is pure justice, the preacher said that man violates an 
infinite law, and therefore justly merits everlasting 
hell-torments. Then the transgression of any law of 
God deserves endless woe. Breaking a bone, cutting 
the flesh, eating improper food, are violations of God's 
laws, and according to the preacher, richly deserve 
ceaseless punishment. A chiid or a man steals a pin ; 
that is a violation of the divine law, and both merit 
eternal suffering. If disobeying of God's law merits 
infinite punishment, then obeying of it merits infi- 
nite happiness. What then becomes of the Bible 
doctrine that " eternal life is the gift of God ?" Kom. 
vi. 23. If the gentleman is correct, there are no de- 
grees in crime, guilt or punishment. There cannot 
be if every infringement of God's law is an infinite 
offense. He who steals a pin, and he who murders a 
man, commit crimes of equal magnitude, and both 
are equally guilty, and deserve equal punishment. 



IN THE WEST. 99' 

If one sin merits infinite punishment, ten thousand 
sins can merit no more, and God will punish a man 
for one sin just as long as he will for a million of sins. 
All mankind sin, and therefore all mankind deserve 
endless punishment. Who then can be saved, if the 
preacher is right ? But, said he, Jesus has made an 
atonement for the sins of the world, has satisfied 
divine justice, and sinners can escape the penalty due 
their crimes. How is that ? The justice of God sat- 
isfied with the sacrifice of Christ ? Did Jesus suffer 
the penalty man merits ? Did he suffer infinite mis- 
ery, the few hours he was on the cross ? Did he suf- 
fer all the pain that all mankind deserve for breaking 
the law? The preacher must reply, yes. If Jesus 
satisfied justice for the "sins of the whole world, origi- 
nal and actual," as his creed — the Methodist creed — 
asserts, then will not all be saved? Is not God 
bound to save all for whom Christ made an atone- 
ment? If the gentleman is correct — if the law is 
infinite, if the penalty is infinite, if all deserve end- 
less hell-torments, and if Jesus has made " an atone- 
ment, a perfect satisfaction for the sins of the whole 
world, original and actual," all are bound to escape, 
and reach heaven. 

But let the law of God be infinite or finite, man's 
guilt is in proportion to his knowledge of right and 
wrong. An idiot may kill a man, but he is not guilty, 
for he knows no better. An intelligent person would 
be deeply guilty for such a deed. Our guilt, then, 
and the punishment we merit, are in exact ratio with 
our knowledge of right and wrong. These facts up- 
set the preacher's whole theory of infinite sin and 
punishment. Justice does not require so much pain 
for so much sin. To demand that would be ven- 
geance, retaliation, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a 
tooth, just what Jesus condemns. Exercising justice 
is giving all parties their due — restoring the equilib- 
rium, making the crooked straight, the rough smooth, 

LofC. 



100 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

causing all flesh to see the salvation of God. It is 
not destruction, but restoration ; it does not hurl men 
from God, but draws them to him ; it consigns us not 
to hell, but exalts us to heaven. This view of justice 
harmonizes with the mercy and goodness of God, and 
refutes the line of the poet, that 

"A God all mercy is a God unjust." 

Lectured in Pekin three times. We have now a 
good society and meeting-house in this place. It was 
then a small village, now it is a large town. Pro- 
ceeded to Tremont, where I spent several days, 
and lectured four times. At a subsequent visit to 
this place, I had an appointment in Washington, 
twelve miles north, on a cold December Sunday 
morning. The thermometer was below zero, the 
snow deep, and the wind blowing hard from the 
north. Started on horseback, and was soon very 
cold. I walked, ran, kicked, and thrashed my arms, 
but this exercise fatigued me, and I remounted my 
horse, and soon became very comfortable, and con- 
gratulated myself that I should get through without 
further trouble. A hole being in one of my gloves, 
I noticed that one of my fingers looked rather pale, 
and I was not long in discovering that I was actually 
freezing. It was then two miles to a house, and 
when I reached it I hesitated about stopping, I felt so 
comfortable. I finally went into the house, and soon 
found that my fingers, ears, nose, and face were badly 
frozen. Remained there till the next day, but if I 
had not stopped, I should probably have frozen to 
death, as it was several miles to a house, and across 
an open prairie. 

Spoke again in Washington. The preacher I 
replied to a few days before, was still howling about 
the abominations of Universalism, but I said no more 
to him. Went to Bloomington, preached three times, 



IN THE WEST. 101 

and got into a controversy. The preacher was a 
strong believer in water baptism — contended that 
there was no salvation without it. I told him that 
his creed damned nearly all mankind ; that a person 
might love God and his fellow men, like John, be- 
lieve the whole gospel, like Fanl, repent of his sins, 
like Peter, bnt unless he was immersed in water, in 
the name of Christ, he would be lost forever ; if he 
was correct, heaven would be almost empty, hell 
crowded ; Christ redeem but a small portion of man- 
kind, while the devil would be crowned with nearly 
all. The wise and benevolent Author of our being 
bases salvation on principles, not on rites — not on 
going into water, eating waters, drinking wine, or 
offering incense. Love is the fulfilling of the law. 
God is love, his will is love, his power is love, his 
spirit is love, his work is love, his law is love, his 
gospel is love, and our whole duty is included in love 
to God, and love to man. The great need of the 
world is, more love, and less show and profession; 
more purity of the heart, and less washing of the 
hands ; more soul religion, and less materialistic re- 
ligion. 

I proceeded to Urbana. Met a man hobbling 
along on one leg. He had heard me preach some- 
where, and abruptly said : 

"If all are to be saved, what is the use of being 
religious ?" 

" I see you have only one leg. I suppose you 
would like to have two sound limbs." 

" That I should. I would freely give my farm for 
a leg made of flesh and bone, instead of this concern 
made of wood, iron and leather." 

" You remarked a moment since, that you hoped 
you were a Christian, and expected to go to heaven 
when you left this world. Do you expect to be a 
one-legged cripple in heaven V 

" Of course not ; all will have perfect bodies there." 



102 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

" Well, then, what is the use of your troubling 
yourself about your lameness in this world ; you will 
be all right in heaven ; you can hobble out your three 
score years and ten, and then all be well with you." 

" But that is no reason why I should not have a 
sound body in this world. I want to enjoy all the 
blessings I possibly can in this world." 

"My friend, you have answered your question. 
You want a whole limb in this world, if you do 
expect one in the next. So, we should be religious in 
this world if we do expect to partake of God's bless- 
ing in heaven, for a religious, life only is a happy life, 
a heavenly life." 

I then proceeded to Perrysville, Ind., in the west- 
ern part of the state. This was the end of my jour- 
ney, as I did not return to Cincinnati. I had travel- 
ed full eight hundred miles since I left Cincinnati, 
and delivered eighty-eight discourses. 



JN THE WEST. 103 



CHAPTER VII. 



Located in Lafayette — The Christian Teacher Commenced — A Cir- 
cuit — Society Organized — Meeting-House Built — All Alone — 
Conflict in Frankfort — Old Testament Doctrine of Punishment 
— Debate Proposed in Frankfort — Discussion in Independence — 
Character of my Sermons — Slanders Refuted — Debate in Bur- 
lington — Endless Woe — Some Voting — The Use of Discussion — 
A Traveler. 

A new era now commenced in my life. I made 
Lafayette, Ind., the center of my operations, and 
commenced the publication of the Christian Teacher, 
a monthly publication of twenty-four pages, at one 
dollar per year*. The first number was issued April, 
1841. There were then two other denominational 
publications in the West — the Star in the West, a 
weekly, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Philomath Ency- 
clopedia, a monthly, in the eastern part of Indiana, 
the Better Covenant and the New Covenant had no 
existence, and the Glad Tidings and the Berian were 
discontinued. There was a large field for a publica- 
tion of that kind, and I thought it would do a good 
work. When the first number was issued, I had two 
hundred subscribers, and at the close of the first vol- 
ume, eight hundred subscribers. I owned no print- 
ing materials, but had the work done at the office of 
the Lafayette Journal, published by Major Seaman, a 
zealous Methodist, and an honorable man. He has 
been in his grave these many years. 

In addition to getting out the magazine, I traveled 
extensively this year, preaching, and obtaining sub- 
scribers for the journal. Wherever I went I had no 
difficulty in introducing it, humble and imperfect as 
it certainly was. But I was not able to make many 
such long journeys as I had heretofore, for I had to 



104 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

be in Lafayette monthly to read proof and mail the 
Teacher. I also established, a circuit which I traveled 
monthly. It included Lafayette, Dayton, Yorktown, 
"West Point, Perrysville, Jefferson, Independence, 
Eainsville, Thorntown, Crawford sville, Ladoga, Terre 
Haute, Lockport, and perhaps two or three other 
places. The distance round was about three hundred 
miles. In Perrysville a society was organized this 
year, and a meeting-house commenced. There was 
also one formed in Terre Haute, and preparations 
made to erect a house of worship. In Lafayette, 
Dayton, and Yorktown, there were also societies 
established. As I was the only minister in western 
Indiana, where this work was going on, I had my 
hands full. 

The first time I visited Frankfort, I preached in a 
vacant lot by the way-side, as no house could be ob- 
tained. The Presbyterian clergyman, Mr. Taylor, 
told his congregation that he had rather the cholera 
would come to town than a preacher of my stamp. 
A few months after, he attended one of my meetings, 
and replied to my discourse. My subject was the 
Old Testament doctrine of punishment, and I dis- 
coursed as follows : 

1. As the Old Testament contains a record of God's 
first revelations to man, it is reasonable to expect, 
that the whole truth concerning the consequences of 
wrong doing would be there clearly stated. 2. As 
that book speaks of the creation of mankind, and of 
the introduction of sin into the world, infinite wisdom 
must surely tell the whole truth concerning sin's dire- 
ful results — tell when and where, punishment is 
inflicted, and how long it is to continue. 3. The Old 
Testament contains the law of God. Jesus said, 
" The law came by Moses." Examine the statutes of 
any state, published by its law-makers, and you will 
find that the same page that contains the law also 
contains the penalty, the whole penalty, for transgres- 



IN THE WEST. 105 

sing that law. Is this right, or is it wrong? It* 
it is right for human legislators to write the law 
and the penalty in the same book, and on the same 
page, is it not right for the Divine Legislator do 
the same? Would not a king be justly deemed a 
fool, or a tyrant, who, in publishing his laws to his 
subjects, should be silent concerning the penalty, or 
make known only a part of it ? lias God revealed 
the moral law, and is he silent concerning the pen- 
alty for transgressing that law? Is man wiser than 
God? Does the wisdom of earth exceed that of 
heaven ? All admit, that part, at least, of sin's pen- 
alty is revealed in the Law Book, but many deny that 
the whole of it is therein revealed. But why this 
partial revelation? Why was the world for four 
thousand years in the dark concerning the penalty of 
sin? For the forty centuries before Christ, was a 
vast stream of human beings plunging headlong into 
a bottomless pit, and not a warning given of their 
impending fate, till they heard the stunning roar of 
the infernal cataract? This is affirmed by many 
learned divines. They admit that the Oid Testament 
does not teach eternal punishment, but at the same 
time they contend, that from Adam to Christ, the 
penalty for transgression was eternal punishment, and 
consequently all nations and people were during that 
time exposed to that terrible storm of wrath. Away 
with such blasphemous imputations. Wisdom, good- 
ness, justice, assure us, that the great Lawgiver kept 
nought back of sin's penalty, but revealed the truth, 
the whole truth, and at the same time he gave the 
law. And here it is in such plain language that a 
child can understand it. I will read from Deuteron- 
omy xxviii. : 

" It shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken 
unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do 
all his commandments and statutes which I command 
thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon 



106 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

thee, and overtake thee : Cursed shalt thou be in the 
city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed 
shall be thy basket and thy store. Cursed shall be 
the 'fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the 
increase of thy cattle, and the nocks of thy sheep. 
Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed 
shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall 
send upon thee cursing, vexation and rebuke in all 

that thou settest thine hand unto to do He shall 

smite thee with consumption, and with a fever, with 
blasting and mildew ; and the Lord shall make the 
pestilence cleave unto thee, until he shall have con- 
sumed thee from off the land whither thou goest to pos- 
sess UP 

" Moreover, all these curses shall come upon thee, 
and shall pursue thee till thou be destroyed ; because 
thou hearkendst not unto the voice of the Lord thy 
God, to keep his commandments and his statutes, 
which he commanded thee. Because thou servedst 
not the Lord thy God with joy fulness, and with glad- 
ness of heart, for the abundance of all things, there- 
fore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord 
shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and 
in nakedness, and in want of all things. And thine 
enemy shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy 
high and fenced walls shall come down, wherein thou 
trusteclest. Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, 
but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shalt go into 
captivity. And thou shalt become an astonishment, 
a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither 
the Lord shall lead thee." 

This language cannot be misunderstood. No law- 
giver ever stated the penalty for transgression in 
plainer terms. The Jews, if they sinned, were to 
suffer in body and mind, in head and heart, at home 
and abroad, till they were consumed from the land. 
But oeyond the land there is not an intimation that 
endless woe would be their doom. That the apostle 



EST THE WEST. 107 

Paul understood the consequences of sin to be tem- 
pi >ral, is evident from these words, " For if the words 
spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgres- 
sion and disobedience received a just recompense of 
reward ; how shall we escape if we neglect so great 
a salvation V- Heb. ii. 23. The apostle here speaks 
of past wickedness, and says it had received a jtjst 
recompense of eeward, and the countless millions of 
the dead consequently were not to be receiving it 
through the ceaseless ages of eternity. They had 
received a just recompense of reward, and were at 
rest. All the moral elements of the law are as much 
in force to-day as they were when they were revealed 
to Moses, and the penalty is the same now it was 
then. Good men are blessed now, and wicked men 
are cursed now. Goodness blesses the one, and vice 
curses the other. It is as true now of all who have 
lived, that they have received a just recompense of 
reward, as it was in St. Paul's day and generation. 
The Old Testament, from beginning to end, reiterates 
the same lesson concerning the present blasting effects 
of vice in all its varied forms. 

Mr. Taylor, in reply, admitted that the Old Testa- 
ment teaches, that the wicked in part are punished in 
this world, that they have a foretaste of hell this side 
of the grave, a morsel of what is in reservation for 
them beyond the tomb. He also admitted, that 
Moses did not teach endless punishment, but the 
prophets did teach it, though not in as clear language 
as did Christ and the apostles. A future life was on- 
ly partially revealed during the Law Dispensation ; it 
was reserved for the Son of God to fully bring life 
and immortality to light. So with regard to hell ; it 
was obscurely revealed by the prophets, but clearly 
revealed by the Savior of man. 

I rejoined thus : " Hell obscurely revealed by the 
prophets !" And yet, Mr. Taylor tells us, that from 
Adam to Christ, multitudes were daily dropping into 



108 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

the infernal regions. Hell should have been revealed 
more distinctly than death or the grave, for it might 
have been shunned if timely warning had been given. 
Only think of a God of love imparting existence to 
human beings, knowing, that by day and by night, 
from the cradle to the grave, they were in imminent 
danger of falling into a fathomless gulf, there ever to 
writhe in immortal agonies, and Having his omnis- 
cient eye on them during the whole of their earthly 
pilgrimage — yet only obscurely hint to them of 
their danger. What kind of a God, sir, do you wor- 
ship ? But then heaven, he say3, was only obscurely 
revealed under the law. I am' amazed that a good, 
intelligent and learned man should deceive himself by 
such sophistry. It may be consistent for a parent in 
his last will and testament to withhold knowledge of 
a great good for a given period from his children, 
but he must be a monster to withhold for a moment 
knowledge of an impending evil, especially if he 
knows they may escape it by timely warning. 

It was nearly midnight when the discussion closed, 
and I spent the rest of the night at his house, by his 
request. The next morning, he prayed that I might 
be converted to the knowledge of the truth, and then 
proposed a public discussion in Frankfort. The prop- 
ositions were agreed on, but the time was not speci- 
fied, and I never could, subsequently, induce him to 
name the date for the debate to commence. He put 
me off from time to time, and finally the matter was 
dropped. 

About this time, I had a discussion in Indepen- 
dence, Ind., with Mr. Campbell, a Methodist minister, 
and that was my first regular oral debate. I had 
often had skirmishes, but this was my first regular 
pitched battle, and I went into it with much fear and 
trembling. I had confidence in the truth, but feared I 
should i'ail in defending it. And to this day, I never 
commence a discussion without similar fears; but 



IN THE WEST. 109 

when I get excited, and have the measure of my 
man, I feel tolerably bold. The subject of discussion 
was endless punishment. Mr. Campbell was a 
Scotchman, and pretty wiry. The discussion elicited 
much interest, and large assemblies listened to it. 
The following is the substance of one of my speeches: 

The consequences of sin were revealed to our first 
parents in the following words : " And the Lord God 
took the man, and put him in the garden of Eden 
to dress it, and to keep it. And the Lord God com- 
manded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden 
thou may est freely eat, but of the tree of knowledge 
of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it ; for in the 
day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Gen. 
ii. 15-17. Here is the first commandment, and the 
first penalty, and we may expect that a wise, just and 
merciful God would inform our race in its very infan- 
cy, of the whole results of wickedness. If eternal 
woe is the penalty, it should have been then and 
there, at the very gate of Eden, proclaimed in dis- 
tinct and unmistakable language. This the welfare 
of man, in time and in eternity, required. If man's 
everlasting weal or woe depends on his choosing evil 
or good in this world, that tremendous fact should 
have been announced in Eden in such thundering 
tones, that its echo would reverberate down all the 
succeeding ages, through every valley, across every 
plain, over every mountain, so that all the living, yea, 
the dead, should hear it. If belief in endless woe is 
the conservative of virtue, a,nd the denial of it infidel- 
ity, that dogma should have been proclaimed so loud 
and so distinct, it should have been so stamped on 
every heart, that a blazing hell and terrible devils, 
would have been the first thoughts of childhood, and 
not to be forgotten till the eyes were closed in death, 
and the heart ceased to beat. 

But what saith the passage : " In the day thoji eat- 
est thereof thou shalt surely die." Is that all the 



110 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

penalty? Every word of it. Not a syllable about 
endless death, endless misery, endless hell. Mr. 
Campbell, who authorized you to put endless before 
death? You add to the word of God, and you know 
what is said of those who do that wicked thing. The 
punishment was that they should die. The Bible 
speaks of national death, temporal death, death to 
sin, and death in sin. But here it cannot mean 
national death, or death to sin ; neither can it mean 
temporal death, for Adam lived hundreds of years 
after he sinned. Reference, without doubt, is to 
death in sin, a moral death — • death to purity, inno- 
cence, virtue, happiness, which is symbolized by his 
being driven out of the garden. We were all in that 
garden once. Jesus took little children in his arms 
and blessed them, saying : " Of such is the kingdom 
of heaven." But Adam was cast out, and most of us 
share the same fate. Adam in Eden represents our 
childhood, and out of it our sinful state. This death 
in sin, which Adam suffered, and multitudes of others 
suffer, is often spoken of in the Bible. Said Jesus, 
" Let the dead bury the dead ;" that is, let the dead 
in sin bury the temporally dead. "You hath he 

quickened who were dead in trespasses and sin 

Even when we were dead in sin hath he quickened us 
together with Christ." Eph. ii. 1, 5. This moral 
death means a great deal. It includes sin itself, and 
11 its moral consequences — degradation, debasement," 
mdemnation, darkness, hell, and ultimates often in 
.mporal ruin. This soul-debasement results in jails, 
penitentiaries and gallows ; in slavery, war and tyran- 
ny ; in premature graves, desolated cities, and ruined 
nations. 

But where and when was the penalty to be inflict- 
ed? Mark the words: "In the day thou eatest 
thereof thou shalt surely die." Sin and its penalty 
are bound — chained together. It does not read that 
they would not be punished till the judgment day, 



IN THE WEST. Ill 

thousands of years hence, at the end of time. That 
is Mr. Campbell's theory ; but the truth is, that sin 
and punishment go hand in hand, at all times, and in 
all places, and if he can prove eternal sinning, I will 
prove eternal suffering. Notice also, that the punish- 
ment was sure. In the day thou sinneth thou shalt 
surely die. If you jump into the sea, and cannot 
swim, you must suffer the consequences ; if you swal- 
low a dose of poison, and it penetrates your vitals, 
you must abide the result ; so he who transgresses the 
moral law of God, must suffer its blasting, damning 
effects. "Ye shall surely die." Repentance may 
mitigate the result in fart, but the curse cleaves to 
the sinner till there is an entire transformation of 
character. But the penalty is not endless, else who 
can be saved from sin ? It was not termed endless 
when it was first revealed, neither is it called endless 
in any part of the Bible. The gentleman will have 
to hunt up evidence outside of the book to make out 
endless woe for the sins of this life. 

Mr. Campbell replied : " That the death threatened 
Adam, was death temporal, death spiritual, and death 
eternal; and although it was not termed eternal in 
the passage, it was clearly implied there, and distinct- 
ly taught all through the Bible." 

I answered : Here are two assumptions. 1. That 
the death was threefold. There is no such intima- 
tion in the passage or elsewhere in the Bible. 2. 
That the death is eternal. It is not so termed from 
Genesis to Revelation. 

But I have not room for more of that discussion. 
Mr. Campbell seemed satisfied with his defense of 
ceaseless woe, and we parted in friendship. 

I got along better with this discussion than I ex- 
pected, and was more willing afterwards to engage in 
such debates. Many well meaning persons oppose 
the public discussion of religious subjects ; they think 
it does no good, but much harm; but they do not 



112 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES* 

properly discriminate between the abuse and proper 
use of discussion. That it may be, and often is 
abused, there can be no doubt ; but what good thing 
can be named, that is not liable to be abused % And 
it seems that the best of God's blessings, when im- 
properly directed by erring men, are the greatest 
curses. Fire, water, air, steam, electricity, when legit- 
imately employed, are vast benefactors to man, but 
when illegitimately employed, they deal death and 
destruction all around. Man, when he answers the 
end of his being, is almost an angel, but when his 
noble faculties are prostituted to base purposes, he 
becomes a fiend. The gospel is the power of God 
unto salvation, to all who cherish it deep in their 
hearts, but in the hands of wicked men it may deluge 
the world with blood and tears. So religious discus- 
sion, where truth and error grapple, if conducted with 
proper motives, and in the right spirit, is a lever of 
reform ; it opens the eyes of the blind, unstops the 
ears of the deaf, and often takes away the heart of 
stone and gives a heart of flesh ; hence reformers in 
all ages have courted discussion. Socrates was a 
famous debater, Jesus traveled from town to town, 
and Paul from nation to nation, discussing with the 
people, and turning the world upside down. Luther, 
by his controvertial tongue and pen, sent the Pope 
of Rome, and the Catholic Church, headlong to the 
gates of their long home. After that tongue was 
silent, and that pen dry, they rallied, and prolonged 
their existence. Let every subject of human thought 
be discussed freely, but kindly, honestly, wisely. It 
will do no harm, but much good. But I have 
observed that it is the advocates of established theo- 
ries, exclusively, that oppose discussion. They do 
not want their slumbers disturbed by noisy debate ; 
they might wake up and see and hear something 
new. Cry aloud, reformers, and spare not; do not 
be afraid of making a noise in the sleepy hollows of 



IN THE WEST. 113 

the earth. Say to all, Awake, think, investigate, 
judge. The divine injunction is, " Prove all things, 
and hold fast that which is good ;" " Come, let us 
reason together." 

There was so much opposition to. liberal principles, 
that the people wanted doctrinal and explanatory dis- 
courses, but I always dwelt more or less on the moral 
and the spiritual. Mere doctrinal and explanatory 
discourses, without showing the moral and spiritual 
bearing of truth, do but little good. In almost every 
place I visited, the preachers were fighting our faith, 
and slandering its advocates, and our friends wanted 
me to repel these assaults, which gave my sermons a 
controvertial character, and some times a peppery 
flavor. But I always kept the great truth prominent 
in my ministrations, that heaven and everlasting life 
can be enjoyed in this world ; that we should lay hold 
on them ; lay up treasures where moth and rust cannot 
corrupt, and where thieves cannot break through and 
steal. And I had the satisfaction of knowing that 
not only many minds were enlightened by truth 
divine, but many hearts were improved by its saving 
influence. 

And here I am reminded of another outrageous 
attack of a Methodist preacher, Mr. Cooper, on Uni- 
versalists, in Independence. "They are," said he, 
" the vilest of the vile. The jails, penitentiaries, rum 
holes, gambling dens, are full of them. They defy 
heaven and blaspheme God. This is their general 
character." 

I replied : This is all slander, and this lying priest 
knows it. He knows that he bears false witness 
against his acquaintance, his neighbors, the citizens 
of this place. He sins willfully, maliciously, and he 
had better not let the sun go down on his wrath. All 
who live in this community know that he poured out 
this day vials of falsehood ; they know that some of 
the best citizens of this county are of the faith he con- 



114 TWENTY-EIVE YEARS 

clemns; they know also, that the wicked places he 
speaks of, in this community, are not filled with per- 
sons of our faith. He cannot name a grog-shop keep- 
er in this county, who professes to be a IJniversalist ; 
but I can name several advocates of eternal punish- 
ment, and some of them were once members of his 
church, who are in that kind of business; and for 
every gambler here, who ever thought of calling him- 
self a IJniversalist, I can name ten who will swear 
over their cards and bottles, that there is an endless 
hell ; and for every IJniversalist he may produce, who 
uses profane language, I can produce ten advocates 
of eternal punishment, who blaspheme God and heav- 
en daily by their profanity. I want no better evi- 
dence of the immoral tendency of partialism than the 
speaker has given to-day ; and I am sure that publi- 
cans and sinners will enter the kingdom of heaven 
before characters of his stamp. I do not pretend, that 
all who call themselves by our name are Christians in 
life and practice. Are all the believers in immortal 
woe Christians % History says, no / every man and 
woman living on earth will say, no. The persecutors 
and murderers of Christ and his apostles ; those who 
pursued the Christians in the first and second centu- 
ries of the Christian Era, with fire and sword, were 
zealous advocates of eternal burnings. The Catholics 
who tortured, hung, beheaded, quartered, millions of 
Christians and Pagans, were all staunch believers in 
hell. Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Puritans, and In- 
dependents, who hung Quakers, burned witches, and 
persecuted and murdered each other, and the Catho- 
lics, were unwavering in the fiery faith. Ninety-nine 
one hundredths of all the thieves, murderers, pirates, 
gamblers, rum-sellers, rum-drinkers, are believers in 
eternal woe. These are facts, which history and 
observation substantiate. If Universalism had been 
believed, and preached as long and as generally as 
eternal punishment has been, and if mankind were 



IN THE WEST. . 115 

no better than they are now, I, for one, would be 
ashamed to boast of its good moral influence. I do 
not say that all the advocates of eternal punishment 
are reprobates. There are noble and pure Christians 
in all denominations, many of them, more of that 
character than otherwise, but faith in hell has yet the 
first Christian to make. Believers in that cruel dog- 
ma, many of them, are Christians in spite of their 
faith in it. The tendency of faith in hell is downward, 
while the innate goodness of their hearts, and the many 
truths they cherish, direct them heavenward. I do 
not contend that all believers in the Restitution are 
practical Christians. Would to God they were, but I 
know they are not. But give this divine philosophy 
time to do its work in the world ; give it time to ger- 
minate, root, bud, blossom, and yield its fruit, before 
you condemn it. Belief in vengeance has had ample 
time to develop itself in human character, and it has 
produced its like the world over. Give the doctrine 
of Love and Justice an opportunity to yield its legit- 
imate fruit before you cast it out as evil. Besides, the 
immoral men, who hang at our skirts, were cradled, 
educated, and grew to manhood, not under the influ- 
ence of our benevolent faith, but under the guns of 
Orthodoxy, and it, if any creed, is responsible for their 
character. But because Universalism does not do in 
a day what Orthodoxy has failed to do in years, it is 
said to be immoral in its tendency ! 

About this time, I had a discussion in a grove near 
Burlington, Ind., with Harper Hanna, a Methodist 
minister, which continued four days. I had not been 
in the neighborhood before the discussion commenced, 
neither had a discourse on the Restitution been deliv- 
ered there, consequently, the people were totally in 
the dark concerning our faith, and strongly preju- 
diced against it. On the other hand, Mr. Hanna was 
in the midst of his friends, and had all their preju- 
dices in his favor. It was a daring thing to debate 



116 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

under such circumstances, but I went through with it, 
and had the satisfaction of knowing that I did not 
labor in vain. I had afterwards monthly appoint- 
ments in the neighborhood. It was amusing to see 
the people scan me, and watch every motion. If I 
had been an elephant, I would not have been a sub- 
ject of more curiosity. The themes of discussion 
were endless punishment and universal salvation. In 
my first speech I said : 

Put a man in prison and keep him there one year — 
that would be a severe penalty. Keep him there ten 
years — that would be an awful infliction. Keep him 
there his whole natural lifetime — that would be dread- 
ful beyond description. But what is one year, what 
are ten years, yea, seventy years of imprisonment, 
compared to endless suffering in hell? Let all the 
suffering of head and heart, soul and body, that all 
mankind have endured in all ages, and all climes, be 
combined in one pang, and that one pang would 
not amount to as much woe as one soul will suffer if 
doomed to endure ceaseless misery. The fires in 
which the damned will live and move, will be in full 
blast when this earth shall be gray with age, when 
the flames of the mid-day sun shall flicker like the 
dying taper in its socket, yea, they will continue to 
burn deep into the souls of countless millions while 
heaven shall stand and God exist. That is endless 
misery ; and that is what Mr. Hanna affirms, and is 
trying to prove, will be the doom of a large part of 
mankind. It is a dreadful work to charge the God 
of heaven with doing ; to stand up in this beautiful 
world, amid the manifestations of God's love, and 
charge the Author of all these blessings, with inflict- 
ing an eternity of woe on worms of the dust. I be- 
lieve in punishment — in righteous, just punishment — 
but I do not, dare not, believe, that the Father of all 
mercies, and whose name and nature is love, will, 
for the sins of a day, doom innumerable multitudes 



IN THE WEST. 117 

of his offspring to blow the fires of hell forever. 

At the close of the debate, he adopted a little expe- 
dient, that he was sure would be a perfect success — 
to him. He wanted the assembly to decide by vote, 
which party had triumphed in the discussion. Being 
in the midst of his friends, and relying on the preju- 
dices of the people, he doubted not that an over- 
whelming majority would crown him victor. I was 
of the same opinion for the same reasons, and hence 
opposed his crafty maneuver. But being determined 
that the assembly should vote that he was the hero 
of the day, he requested all to rise who thought Har- 
per Hanna has sustained his propositions. About 
one fourth of the congregation heeded his call. He 
looked the picture of amazement at so few voting 
that he was the conqueror. " Get up," said he, 
" you misunderstand me ;" and he again called on all 
to rise, who thought Harper Hanna had sustained 
his cause. Not another one was added to his voting 
friends. Finding he could drum up no more, he 
requested all to stand up, who thought Mr. Manford 
had proved that Universalism was the gospel. Two 
thirds of the assembly bounded to their feet. Poor 
Hanna turned pale as death, and uttering not a word, 
sunk into his chair. 

On my way back to Lafayette, I rode in company 
with a man who had heard of the debate, but did not 
know me. 

" There has been a discussion," said he, " in Bur- 
lington, on Universalism." 

"Did yon attend?" 

"No; it is wrong to hold such discussions. Uni- 
versalism is a lie, and every Christian should call it a 
lie, and have nothing to do with it, or its advocates. 
It is the devil who induces Christians to debate with 
Universalists. It is one of his schemes to lead souls 
down to hell. Several of my neighbors came home 
from the discussion, advocating that wicked doctrine. 



118 TWENTY-FIVE TEAKS 

They were Christians, but I fear they are ruined. 
Two of them say they shall withdraw from our 
church. Mr. Hanna did wrong in debating with that 
Manford. He has introduced a viper into this coun- 
ty, and I fear some are already stung to death. 
Well, I did my duty. I stayed at home, and did all 
I could to keep my neighbors at home. But they 
were possessed with a desire to hear the debate, and 
the result is even worse than I expected. Our minis- 
ter is going to try to undo the evil in our neighbor- 
hood. Next Sunday he will preach a sermon against 
Universalism." 

" Did your minister attend the discussion ?" 
" He did ; and he says he went there to learn what 
could be said in favor of such a doctrine. He is sure 
he can convince all that it is as false as sin. One of 
my neighbors says he shall send for Manford to reply 
to him. But he cannot preach in our church. He 
may be sure of that." 



IN THE WEST. 119 

CHAPTEE VIII. 



Debate in Lafayette — Die in Adam — Alive in Christ — This World 
and World to Come — Battle Ground — In Monticello — A Reply 
— A Preacher Whipped — D. Vines — S. Oyler — I. M. Westfall — 
B. F. Foster in Indiana — Revival Poetry — Ladoga Camp-Meet- 
ing: — Worship God — In Michigan City — An Episcopal Preacher 
— A Wet Ride — Debate in Dayton — Discussion in Jefferson — 
Everlasting Punishment — End of the World — Second Coming 
of Christ — Eternal Life — Meaning of Everlasting. 

Soon after this, I had an oral debate in Lafayette, 
with Mr. Jeffries, Protestant Methodist, of that place, 
which continued four days. One of my principal 
proof-texts was 1 Corinthians, 15th chapter. I spoke 
as follows : This is one of the longest chapters in the 
New Testament, and in it the apostle discourses on 
very important subjects — on life and death, mortality 
and immortality, the earthy nature and heavenly na- 
ture. There are two general statements in this chap- 
ter. 1st. We must all die in Adam. 2d. We shall 
all be made alive in Christ. I will notice these state- 
ments in the order I have named them. 

1st. We must all die. "As in Adam all die." 
This does not say we must die because a man by the 
nanie of Adam did so and so, six thousand years ago. 
Adam is a Hebrew word, and signifies man. Job 
says, " Man that is born of a woman is of few days 
and full of trouble." In the original it reads, Adam, 
instead of man. That Adam simply means man, or 
mankind, is evident from the account of the creation 
of our race, in Genesis. " Let us make man (Adam) 
in our image, after our likeness, and let them have 
dominion." Here the plural verb shows that the 
word Adam is employed collectively, meaning man-^ 
Jcind. " And God created the man (the Adam) in his 



120 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

«- . 

own image: in the image of God created he him; 
male and female created he them." Here both the 
application of " male and female " to the Adam, and 
the plural pronoun at the end of the verse shows that 
the man is used generically, and that it is equivalent 
to the first of mankind. The word Adam, then, was 
not a proper name, but an appellative noun for the 
human species ; its application to the first man, as his 
proper name, was subsequent and secondary. Hence 
when the apostle says, "As in Adam all die," he 
means, As in the Adamic nature, the earthy, corrupti- 
ble, mortal nature, all die. Adam means mortal man, 
and all mankind die in that nature. 

2d. The other statement is contained in the same 
verse — " Even so in Christ shall all be made alive.'"' 
" Made alive in Christ," is contrasted with " die in 
Adam ;" and as Adam means the earthy nature, so 
Christ means the heavenly nature. Here is univer- 
sal death in the earthy nature, and universal life in 
heavenly nature. All die on earth and all shall live 
in heaven. But in the Adamic nature is the germ of 
the Christ-like nature, as in the corn is the germ of 
the future stock. In this chapter the apostle gives 
this beautiful analogy thus : " But some man will say, 
How are the dead raised up ? and with what body do 
they come ?" In answering these questions the apos- 
tle shows, that the germ of the heavenly man is in 
the earthy man. " Thou fool ! that which thou sowest 
is not quickened except it die." The seed corres- 
ponds to the mortal body ; the germ corresponds 
to the spirit in man ; and as the sowing of the seed 
develops the germ into a beautiful and vigorous plant, 
to bask in the sunshine, inhale the air, and drink the 
dews of heaven, so the death of the mortal body 
quickens the indwelling spirit, and it enters with 
renewed vigor on its immortal and heavenly life. 
.The seed then is an emblem of man ; its resurrection 
an emblem of man's resurrection. Who can deny a 



IN THE WEST. 121 

resurrection when the world is so full of emblems 
pointing man to that great fact in his own destiny. 
" So," says the apostle, referring to this beautiful 
illustration, "is the resurrection of the dead" — all 
the dead, all who die in the earthy nature. In the 
words, " It is sown," the writer seems to refer to the 
seed sown in the ground, still making it an emblem 
of man. Mankind sown in corruption, dishonor, are 
raised incorruptible, glorious. The second body is 
more glorious than the first, as the rose is more glori- 
ous than the seed. These citations show what the 
apostle means by the words, " made alive in Christ ;" 
and remember, that all who die in the Adamic nature 
are thus to be made alive. 

" Then cometh the end, when he shall have deliver- 
ed up the kingdom to God, even the Father," etc. (See 
verses 24-28). Here we learn what is to be destroyed. 
1. "All rule." 2. "All authority." 3. "All power." 
4. "Death." And mark you, that death is the last 
enemy. My friend asserts, that death is not the last 
enemy, but that beyond death, and in hell, there are 
legions of enemies to be the everlasting tormentors 
of countless millions of mankind. If the gentleman 
is correct, death is not the last enemy, but rather the 
first real enemy, and opens the door to the fires, 
furies, and demons of perdition, which will burn and 
lash their victims world without end. Let it also be 
noted, that the last enemy is to be destroyed. The 
apostle continues his statements concerning the subju- 
gation of all things to God thus : " And when all 
things shall be subdued to God, then shall the Son 
himself be subject to him, that put all things under 
him that God may be all in all." This is the end to 
which mankind are tending, and this consummation 
will surely be realized. All sin, error, suffering and 
death, shall be abolished ; all mankind subdued to 
God, and God all in all. The sum of this chapter 
then is this — all mankind are mortal, corruptible, 



122 TWENTY-FIVE TEAKS 

and must die ; death is destruction to the body, but 
life to the soul; glory, honor and immortality, are 
the rich inheritance of mankind. 

" The apostle," replied Mr. J., " teaches the resur- 
rection of the body, not of the spirit, and I admit that 
he teaches the resurrection of all the dead, and when 
that shall be effected the absent spirits will claim 
their long lost bodies." 

I rejoined : The gentleman tells us, that the writer 
of this chapter teaches the resurrection of the bodies 
of all the dead. If he is correct, God will raise the 
bodies of saints and sinners, Jews and Gentiles, incor- 
ruptible, glorious, heavenly, and when that shall be 
done, he will unlock hell, and take the deformed, cor- 
rupt, wretched spirits, that have been imprisoned in 
that foul dungeon for thousands of years, and perhaps 
millions of ages, and put them into those beautiful, 
glorious, heavenly bodies. That would be a union 
of perfect purity with total depravity, a marriage of 
heaven and hell, and two bodies so totally unlike 
would fly asunder like fire and water. The truth is, 
the apostle speaks not of the resurrection of this mor- 
tal body, these bones and muscles, this flesh and 
blood, but of the man — the inner, spiritual, real man. 
This body is necessary, while we are denizens of 
earth. By means of it the spirit is connected with 
the outer world, but when we shall be dwellers of the 
spirit land, we shall have no further use of these mor- 
tal tabernacles. 

In his first speech on the proposition relating to 
endless punishment, Mr. Jeffries boasted that he 
should make short work of me and of my faith. " I 
have," said he, " one text to quote, and one question 
to ask. The text is Matthew xii. 31, 32. ' Wherefore 
I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy 
shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy 
against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto 
men. And. whosoever speaketh a word against the 



IN THE WEST. 123 

Son of man, it shall be forgiven him : but whosoever 
speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be for- 
given him, neither in this world, neither in the world 
to come.' And this is the question : If the sin against 
the Holy Ghost was not to be forgiven in this world, 
or in the world to come, where will it he forgiven ? 
I once had a debate with Jonathan Kiclwell, and I 
cited this verse, and asked this question, and it 
brought the discussion to a close, for Mr. Kidwell 
could neither answer the question nor explain the 
passage so as to save Universal] sm from total destruc- 
tion. The debate was to continue four clays, but it 
lasted twenty minutes." 

I responded as follows: The gentleman pretends 
that he once " used up " one man by one question, 
and one text, and he expects to demolish me in the 
same easy and summary manner ; but the sequel may 
show that he is over sanguine. I will show that the 
passage on which he so confidently relies to sustain 
his monstrous proposition, affords it no aid whatever. 

1. If the words, "this world and the world to 
come," mean this life and the life to come, as my 
friend supposes, then all sin, save the one sin against 
the Holy Ghost, may be forgiven in the future state. 
The passage reads, "All manner of sin and blasphe- 
my shall be forgiven unto men." The parallel pas- 
sage (Mark iii. 28) reads thus : " All sins shall be for- 
given unto the sons of men, and [all] blasphemies 
wherewithsoever they shall blaspheme." It is as 
clear as daylight, from these passages, that all sins, 
except the one specified, can be forgiven "in this 
world or the world to come." If the gentleman is 
right in his application of the passage, all sins but 
one, may be forgiven in the future state of being, and 
his creed is consequently/aZ^, for it asserts that God 
will not permit a sin to be forgiven on the other side 
of the river, but every sin the soul harbors when it 
shuffles off its mortal coil, becomes fossilized, immor- 



124 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES B 

tal as God himself. He must either abandon his text 
or his unforgiving creed. 

2. The gentleman relies on the word, shall — the 
sin against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven. 
That word occurs twice in the passage, and I wish to 
call his special attention to where it occurs the second 
time. All sins shall be forgiven. If shall is to be 
understood in the absolute sense in one place, it must 
in the other, and then the passage means, that all sin, 
except that one against the Holy Ghost, shall be for- 
given somewhere, either in this world or the world to 
come. The passage, then, instead of blasting our 
blissful hope and cherished faith, that all sin and 
wrong will ultimately end, strikes a death-blow at the 
gent T eman's creed concerning the immortality of 
wickedness of every name and grade. 

3. It is by no means certain, that " this world and 
world to come," means this life and life to come. 
The most learned men of all schools tell us, that the 
passage •should be translated, this age and age to 
come, meaning the Jewish age or dispensation, and 
Christian age or dispensation. Dr. Adam Clarke 
takes this view of the words : " Though I follow the 
common translation, yet I am fully satisfied the 
meaning of the words is, neither in this dispensation, 
viz., the Jewish, nor in that which is to come, viz., 
the Christian. Olam ha-ho, the world to come, is a 
constant phrase for the times of the Messiah, in the 
Jewish writings." Bishop Pearce says, " Rather, nei- 
ther in this age, nor in the age to come ;" meaning 
the Jewish and Christian dispensations. 

"Ah!" said he, in his next speech, "if the sin 
against the Holy Ghost was not to be forgiven in the 
Jewish age or Christian age, when was it to be for- 
given ? The Jewish age commenced in the days of 
Moses and ended when Christ was crucified; the 
Christian age commenced then, and will not end "till 
death shall be swallowed up in victory. When and 



IN THE WEST. 125 

where can that sin be forgiven ? Will Mr. Manford 
answer that question V 

Reply. The Jewish and Christian ages belong to 
this stage of existence, and when the Jordan of death 
shall be passed, we shall not be living in the Jewish 
age or Christian age, but in the spirit age, spirit 
world, and the passage does not intimate that sin or 
any other sin cannot be forgiven there. The truth is, 
that the wisdom, the light, the glory of the spirit 
world will soon transform every soul into its image. 
When the sun crosses the equator, on the twentieth 
of March, how dead the vegetable kingdom lies, hor- 
ror wide extends his desolate domain. But the sun 
soon begins to impart his renovating grace to root and 
seed, and the result is, a general resurrection on hill, 
dale and plain. Nothing can resist his influence ; all 
vegetation comes forth to newness of life. So the 
wisdom and love of heaven, corresponding to the 
light and heat of the sun of this world, illuminates 
and warms every soul, and quickens each and all into 
newness of life. Say not, then, that sin cannot be put 
away from the soul on the other side of the river. 
We should not cheat ourselves by delaying to live a 
Christian life till middle age, or till we enter the spirit 
land, but in the words of Dr. Watts, 

"While the lamp holds out to burn, 
The vilest sinner may return." 

The lamp of life will burn forever, and the time or 
place will never be known, where and when, the sin- 
ner cannot return to truth, to virtue — to God. Eve- 
ry tree and shrub is invigorated and developed by 
the sun's life-giving beams, so the great spiritual Sun 
does not shine in vain ; every soul will be blessed by 
his divine emanations. In the language of the Bible, 
" All nations whom thou hast made shall go and wor- 
ship before thee O Lord, and glorify thy name." 



126 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

" You forget," said my opponent, in his last speech 
on the above passage, " that those who committed the 
sin against the Holy Ghost, were in danger of eternal 
damnation?'' 

No, sir, I have not forgotten that ; neither have I 
forgotten, that if the sin named is absolutely never to 
be forgiven, the sinner who commits it is not in dan- 
ger of suffering damnation, but is sure of suffering it, 
just as sure as he has sinned. There is no remedy, 
his doom is sealed. These words, then, clearly im- 
ply, that the punishment named may be arrested. 
This is an important consideration. Again, the word, 
eternal is from the same Greek term that world is, 
and Dr. Clarke, as we have seen, says it means age, 
and learned men of all denominations admit it signi- 
fies age, time, life-time. I have now noticed every 
point the gentleman made on this noted passage, and 
it is evident that it affords the dogma of immortal 
wretchedness no support. 

I delivered several lectures at the Tippecanoe battle 
ground, and became acquainted with many persons, 
who have ever since been steadfast friends. This place 
is six miles north of Lafayette. There is a marsh on 
one side, and a small stream, with a narrow bottom, 
covered with thick woods, on the other. The dis- 
tance from the swamp to the stream is about three 
hundred yards, and on this narrow belt of ground 
General Harrison's army was encamped, and the bat- 
tle fought. No military man, I suppose, would deem 
that a safe camping-ground in an enemy's country. 
But Harrison did not expect the Indians would fight, 
but rather treat for peace ; but he should have been 
more cautious. He repelled the attack, with heavy 
loss to his army, but if he had been defeated, his 
force would have suffered sorely, for the Wabash 
river was in his rear, only one mile distant, and that 
without bridge or boats. 

I also preached in Monticello, and was replied to 



IN THE WEST. 127 

by a Methodist minister. My text was, " Go ye into 
all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and 
he that believeth not shall be damned." The gos- 
pel, I said, comprises the theological and moral doc- 
trines that Jesus taught. He told men, that God 
was the Father of the spirits of all flesh ; that the 
high and the low, the rich and the poor, the wise 
and the ignorant, the black and the white, the slave 
and his master, were alike the children of God, 
and belong to and compose one family; that the 
physical, intellectual, and moral bounties of God's 
store-house were accessible to all, and that the Master 
of the feast invites all to partake freely and live. He 
had doomed none, and never would doom any, to 
eternal starvation. "Ho, every one that thirsteth, 
come ye to the waters, and ye that have no money, 
come, buy wine and milk without money and without 
price." If we are wise and partake of this feast of 
fat things, we live, are blessed with salvation, and the 
kingdom of God, which is righteousness, joy and 
peace in the holy spirit, reigns in the soul. But if we 
shun the rich provisions of the Father's board, walk 
on the other side, choose darkness, error and sin, 
rather than light, truth and virtue, woe be to us. 
Every heavenly principle, every law of God con- 
demns us, till we set our faces heavenward, and turn 
our steps upward. 

" There was not," said the preacher, " one particle 
of gospel iu that sermon. Mankind were lost and 
ruined by the fall of Adam ; the seal of eternal dam- 
nation was burnt deep into the- hearts of all, by 
Adam's apostasy, and God became incarnate to make 
it possible for man to be saved. Those who believe in 
the incarnate God are saved from hell, from the wrath 
of God, and the curse of the fall ; but those who reject 
the crucified Jesus, are lost beyond redemption, and 
the seal of damnation will burn deeper and deeper 



128 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

into their immortal souls; they will be abandoned 
by God, Christ, angels, and all the saints will say, 
amen" 

He was one of the most orthodox preachers I ever 
heard. When in the pulpit, he was always harping 
on the mysterious jargons of Orthodoxy, with his face 
elongated, and a countenance bordering on despair ; 
but out of the pulpit he was a boy, and a foolish boy 
too. "When preaching in Logansport, shortly after 
General Tipton died, a noted citizen of that place, he 
cried, "There, General Tipton, that old sinner, is 
dead and gone to hell." A son of Mr. Tipton, soon 
after, met the preacher on a long bridge at Logans- 
port, and with a whip gave him a pretty hard thrash- 
ing. He begged for mercy, and promised not to talk 
in that style any more. 

During the first two years I resided in Lafayette, I 
seldom met a minister of my faith. There were only 
two others in Indiana at that time, and they were in 
remote parts of the state, and being aged men did not 
preach much, but after that time I had more ministe- 
rial associates. D. Yines, of Frankfort, spoke some 
in public, and received Letter of Fellowship. His 
intentions were good, but his qualifications meager. 
He subsequently became a Swedenborgian, or a Spir- 
itualist, and I have lost sight of him. Samuel Oyler, 
of Jefferson, also entered the ministry. He preached 
three or four years in the south part of the state, and 
then came out a lawyer, and, I understand, he suc- 
ceeds well in that profession. I. M. "Westfall, of 
Thornton, left the Methodist church, of which he was 
a lay-member, and commenced preaching without any 
preparation, save strong faith and ardent zeal. He 
possessed a good mind, and soon became a popular 
speaker. He remained in Indiana about one year, 
and then moved to Iowa City, Iowa. He continued 
in the ministry till recently. At the present time he 
resides in Minnesota, and is practising medicine. At 



IN THE WEST. 129 

Perrysville, where I had preached monthly for two 
years, a meeting-house was erected, and a society 
organized. Being in Oxford, Ohio, I met with B. F. 
Foster, a young man, who had just commenced 
preaching, and prevailed on him to move to Perrys- 
ville, and take charge of the society in that place. 
Pie, however, soon left P. and located in Terre Haute, 
where our friends were building a fine meeting-house. 
He has resided in Indiana ever since, and is a popular 
and useful minister. He has been for many years 
pastor of the society in Indianapolis, and at the pres- 
ent time he is State Librarian. 

An Association, embracing the country from Terre 
Haute to Lafayette, called the "Wabash Yalley Asso- 
ciation, was organized. The meeting that organized 
it was held in Ferrysville, and it was an enthusiastic 
gathering. Seven or eight societies were represented, 
all recently formed. Many went on horsebaGk, in 
wagons and carriages, thirty, forty, and fifty miles. 
Our friends were alive with zeal, and did not mind 
traveling fifty miles to a good meeting. 

The United Brethren held a noisy meeting in War- 
ren county, and the following lines were very popular 
with the Brethren, and they often sung them : 

.The devil is mad, 
And I am glad, 

Glory, hallelujah. 

The devil may pout, 
But I will shout. 

Glory, hallelujah, 

I noticed this meeting, and quoted their popular 
hymn in the Teacher, and the Brethren in that coun- 
ty were very indignant. At their next meeting one 
of their preachers took up the matter. "That little 
Universalist preacher," said he, " that lives in Lafay- 
ette, and prints that Universalist paper, is mad be- 
cause we sing about his daddy." 



130 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

I attended, on a dark and gloomy night, a fanatical 
camp-meeting of the Methodists, near Ladoga. It was 
held in a dense forest. When a mile from the camp, 
I heard the noise of the nocturnal worshipers. Ar- 
riving on the ground, the scene that opened to the 
vision, beggared description. The whole camp seem- 
ed to be in an uproar. Preachers were preaching, 
exhorters exhorting, singers singing, shoufers shout- 
ing, and jumpers were jumping. Some seemed to be 
suffering intense agony, others as happy as clams at 
high water. Some kept their seats, while others were 
hopping, skipping and jumping like chickens with 
their heads cut oft*. One man ran past me without 
looking to the right or left. "Where are you go- 
ing ?" said I. lt To glory." A preacher screamed 
as loud as his lungs would allow, " The devil is in 
the camp, and must be driven out. Get the horn, 
form in line, march round the ground three times, 
blow the horn, the devil must be driven out, the walls 
of Jericho shall fall." The procession was formed, 
the horn was blown, and the march was made. 
Whether Satan left the camp, and the said walls fell 
at this demonstration, the master of the ceremony did 
not see proper to inform us. I left the ground about 
midnight, when the excitement was under full head- 
way, and my reflections while walking back to the 
village were as follows : Is this the proper way to 
worship God ? Does he require us to make fools of 
ourselves, and act like bedlamites ? Is religion fanat- 
icism ? Is regeneration an hallucination ? I will not 
believe a word of it. Religion consists in love to 
God and man. Noise, uproar, fanaticism are not 
worship, are not religion, are not regeneration. God 
speaks to the soul with the still small voice of inspira- 
tion and intuition, and the truly pious make but little 
outward demonstration. Empty wagons make much 
noise, heavy laden ones pass our streets without hard- 
ly being heard. But then I do not wonder at the 



IN THE WEST. 131 

noise, lamentation, agonizing, and every other extrav- 
agance, of these people. They think God is frowning 
on this world, that his wrath is kindled to its hottest 
pitch, that he has already banished most of the dead 
to the infernal regions, and that during every mo- 
ment of time crowds are driven from earth to hell, 
and that we all stand on the very brink of a bot- 
tomless pit. ~No wonder the victims of this terrible 
belief are nearly insane. Strange they are not all 
raving mad. O God, enlighten their minds concern- 
ing tllee, whom to know is life eternal. 

I visited Michigan City by request, and delivered 
four discourses. The Episcopal clergyman of the 
place, took the trouble to go around town, and destroy 
all the notices of the meetings that were tacked up, 
and to tell the people not to go near me. But large 
congregations attended, and all seemed much interest- 
ed. In one of my lectures I gave a history of the 
" rise and progress " of the Episcopal Church. Stat- 
ed that it was conceived in sin and brought forth in 
iniquity ; that Henry YIIL, universally admitted to 
have been the most beastly monarch that ever reigned 
in England, was the first Episcopalian, and the father 
of the sect ; that church from Henry's day to this day 
has been a proud, arrogant, insolent, overbearing con- 
cern ; in England it draws half of its support from 
unwilling pockets, from those who belong to other 
communions ; that it cares not who starves provided 
its priests, bishops, and lords live in indolence, race 
horses, chase foxes, and drink brandy ; it never took 
but one short step from the Catholic Church, the 
mother of harlots, and it was now creeping back into 
the arms of its old mamma ; but there are some live 
men and women in the church, and they deplore the 
stupidity, coldness and old hunkerism of the lifeless 
body to which they are bound. 

The distance from Lafayette to Michigan City, is 
about one hundred miles, and for fifteen miles on 



132 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

each side of the Kankakee river, there was not, in 
those days, a house. It commenced raining on my 
way to Michigan City, when I had reached the south 
margin of that wilderness of prairie, and it poured 
down in torrents till I made the first house, thirty 
miles distant. It was a swamp nearly all the way, 
and the flood of that day made the road, such as it 
was, nearly impassable. I sometimes thought I 
should have to return; but about ten at night I 
reached a cabin, drenched with rain, covered with 
mud, and as hungry as a bear. 

A Presbyterian elder, by the name of Smith, was 
eager for a debate, and he was gratified. We occu- 
pied the Presbyterian church in Dayton, and the 
poor elder did one pretty hard day's work. He was 
frightened out of most of his wits ; his nerves were 
unstrung, and his hand so trembled he could not hold 
his Bible to read his texts. I pitied him, but dealt as 
hard blows as I could strike. He was disgusted with 
himself, and proposed, a few weeks after, to try again, 
hoping to do better. We spent two days at ftoss- 
ville, near his home, and he then willingly retired 
without further debating. 

A few days after this affair, I spent four days in 
discussion with Mr. Coon, a Scotch Presbyterian, and 
Calvinistic " up to the hub." He was a prominent 
man in his church, intelligent, and well educated. 
He subsequently published a book of three or four 
hundred pages, against the doctrine of the Restitu- 
tion, and in defense of eternal punishment. The dis- 
cussion was held in Jefferson ; and though the weath- 
er was intensely cold, a large number attended. Mr. 
Coon was a strong man, and all were anxious to hear. 
He had thoroughly- prepared himself for the work. 
It required two or three men to carry his books to 
and from the church. I had my Bible, and perhaps 
two or three other books. He talked English, and 
Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew. Mr. Taylor, a Pres- 



IN THE WEST. 133 

byterian minister, who had just closed an eight days' 
debate with John O'Kane, of the Campbellite Church, 
was one of the moderators, and he prayed for Mr. 
Coon, imploring the Lord to help him on that impor- 
tant occasion. 

" These shall go away into everlasting punishment, 
but the righteous into life eternal," (Matt. xxv. 46,) 
was one of his proof-texts. " It is evident," said he, 
" that this passage teaches the endless punishment of 
the wicked, for the following reasons : 1. It relates 
to what would transpire at the end of the world. 
This, and the preceding chapter, is an answer to the 
questions, ' "What shall be the signs of thy coming, 
and of the end of the world V Matt. xxiv. 3. 2. 
' These ' were to go into everlasting punishment when 
Christ would come the second fame, and that event 
was to take place at the end of the world. 3. Ever- 
lasting is from the same Greek word that is rendered 
eternal, and consequently the everlasting punishment 
is to continue as long as the eternal life. If one will 
end so will the other end. 4. The best scholars tell 
us, that the Greek word here rendered everlasting 
and eternal, signifies endless duration." 

I replied : Mr. Coon tells us, that his text was to 
be fulfilled at the end of the world spoken of in Mat- 
thew xxiv.. He is doubtless correct. Now, learned 
men of all denominations tell us, that world there 
means the Jewish Dispensation, and the end of the 
world the end of that Dispensation. Most of them 
translate the passage, "end of the age." It is so 
rendered by Doddridge, Macknight, Whitby, Pearce, 
Le Clerc, Hammond, "Wakefield and Kenrick — all 
learned men, and save one or two, advocates of end- 
less misery. The word, world is often used in this 
sense in the New Testament. "Now once in the end 
of the world hath Christ appeared to put away sin by 
the sacrifice of himself." Heb. ix. 24. Christ did 
appear at the end of the Jewish Dispensation for that 



134 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

purpose. The Jews divided time into two ages — the 
age before Christ, and the age after Christ. The first 
age ended, as Paul says, " when Christ appeared." 
The end of the world, then, took place eighteen hun- 
dred years ago, and then the gentleman's text was 
fulfilled. 

2. When Christ was to come the second time, some 
were to go away into everlasting punishment. When 
was he thus to come ? In this same discourse Jesus 
speaks of that coming, and affirms, that it would take 
place in that generation. "And then shall appear the 
sign of the Son of man, .... and they shall see the Son 
of man coming." He then states when he would come : 
" This generation shall not pass till all these things be 
fulfilled." Matt. xxiv. 30, 34. On another occasion, 
addressing his disciples, he said, "But when they 
persecute you in this city, flee ye into another ; for 
verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone over 
the cities of Israel till the Son of man be cdme." 
Matt. x. 27. He would come so soon that the disci- 
ples would not be able to visit all of Israel's cities. 
At another time he said, " For the Son of man shall 
come in the glory of his Father, with his angels ; and 
then he shall reward every man according to his 
works. Yerily I say unto you, There be some stand- 
ing here, which shall not taste of death, till they 
see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." Matt, 
xvi. 27, 28. He was to come the second time before 
some who heard these words would die. He intimat- 
ed that the apostle John would live to witness this 
coming. " Peter seeing John, saith to Jesus, Lord, 
what shall this man do ? Jesus saith to him, If I will 
that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee ? Then 
went this saying abroad among the brethren, that the 
disciple would not die ; yet Jesus said not to him, He 
shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, 
what is that to thee." John xxi. 21-23. It requires 
considerable effort to misunderstand these plain de- 



IN THE WEST. 135 

clarations. Jesus told his hearers, that he would 
come the second time, 1. In the generation in 
which he lived ; 2. So soon the disciples would not 
have time to visit all Judah's cities ; 3. Before some 
he addressed would die ; 4. That John, the beloved 
disciple, might live to see him come. In the face of all 
this testimony, Mr. Coon tells us, that coming is yet 
a future event ! But the truth is, that coming took 
place at the "beginning of the Christian Dispensation, 
at the ushering in of the Gospel Age, at the setting 
up "of the kingdom of God. The revelator, who was 
the disciple John, says, he " saw the holy city, new 
Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven." 
Rev. xxi. 3. Judaism had passed away, Paganism was 
dead, and a new order of things had commenced — 
old things had passed away, all things had become 
new. The world had entered on a new era. This is 
what Christ meant by his coming in power and glory. 
3. The gentleman truly says, that everlasting and 
eternal are from the same original word. He then 
assumes that "eternal life" in his text means endless 
blessedness, and then infers, that " everlasting pun- 
ishment" means endless wretchedness. His assump- 
tion and inference are alike fictions. According to 
the New Testament, the Christian, in this world, is in 
possession of eternal or everlasting life. "He that 
believeth on me hath everlasting life." " Verily, 
verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and 
believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting 
life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is 
passed from death unto life." John v. 24. " This is 
life eternal, that they might know thee the only true 
God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." John 
xvii. 3. Eternal life is gospel life — spiritual life, 
and every christian man and woman is now in posses- 
sion of this life. When a person is alive to every 
thing holy and good, possesses the spirit of Christ, 
and lives the life of Christ, it may be truly said of 



136 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

him, he "hath everlasting life." So, when a man's 
character is the reverse of this, when he is a son of 
error and sin, it may be truly said of him, he hath 
everlasting punishment. If everlasting life can be 
enjoyed here, cannot everlasting punishment be suf- 
fered here % Again, a person may be a Christian to- 
day, and consequently in possession of everlasting 
life ; but his love may wax cold, he may become a 
sinner, an unbeliever, an infidel ; he will then be no 
longer in possession of everlasting life. So, an infidel 
and a sinner of to-day may become a saint, like St. 
Paul ; he then passes from death to life, from suffer- 
ing everlasting punishment to the possession of ever- 
lasting life. But, by everlasting punishment, Jesus 
had direct reference to the temporal desolation that 
was soon to befall his countrymen at the end of the 
Jewish Dispensation. The kingdom was to be taken 
from them, and they were to be cast out into outer 
darkness, till the fullness of the Gentiles should come 
in. 

4. Mr. Coon informs us, that the Greek terms, 
aion, aionios, mean endless duration. These are two 
forms of one word. Aion is a noun, and ios added 
to it, forms the adjective. This word occurs in these 
two forms three times in the twenty-fourth and twen- 
ty-fifth chapters of Matthew. In the twenty-fourth 
chapter, the disciples inquired of Jesus, " What shall 
be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the 
world f " These two chapters answer these two ques- 
tions. ISTow, vwrld is from aion, the same word ren- 
dered everlasting, and eternal, in the text. There 
was then to be an end to aion. Mr. Coon tells us, 
that this word means duration without end, and in 
the same speech cites the same word to prove that it 
(aion) is to end! One passage explains the other. 
In one place Jesus speaks of aionios punishment, 
without stating whether he means endless or limited 
time; in the other place the apostles inquire con- 



IN THE WEST. 137 

cerning the end of the aion, and Jesus in answering 
their question, tells them, that it shall end, " but," he 
adds, "the end is not yet." Many tilings would 
transpire before that event would occur. " He that 
endureth to the end shall be saved And the gos- 
pel of this kingdom shall be preached in all the world 
for a witness to all nations ; and then shall the end 
come Verily, verily, 1 say unto you, this genera- 
tion shall not pass, till all these things he fulfilled." 
Matt. xxiv. 6, 13, 14, 34. We have, then, the word 
of Jesns for it, that aion, and consequently, aionios, 
everlasting punishment, may end. I will give the 
true definition of aion, according to learned men — all 
believers in endless woe : 

Schleusner.— -" Any space of time, whether long- 
er or shorter, past, present, or future, to be deter- 
mined by the persons or things spoken of, and the 
scope of the subject — the life or age of man; any 
space in which we measure human life, from birth to 
death." 

Donnegan. — "Aion, time; a space of time; life- 
time and life ; the ordinary period of man's life ; the 
age of man ; man's estate ; a long period of time ; 
eternity. Aionios, of long duration ; eternal, lasting, 
permanent." 

Schkevelius. — "Aion, an age, a long period of 
time ; indefinite duration ; time, whether longer or 
shorter, past, present or future; life, the life of man. 
Aionios, of long duration, lasting, sometimes ever- 
lasting, sometimes lasting through life." 

This is the definition learned men give the word. 
I will now show that the Bible attaches the same 
meaning to it. 

1st. Everlasting. " And I will give unto thee and 
thy seed, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting 
possession." Gen. xvii. 8. 

" And I will make of thee a multitude of people, 
and will give this land (Canaan) to thy seed after 



138 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

thee, for an everlasting possession." Gen. xlviii. 4. 

Now, was this possession to be endless ? No, for 
it ceased long ago ! But let me read still more : 
"Unto the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills" — 
"The everlasting mountains were scattered." Hab. 
iii. 6. The gentleman believes that the everlasting 
hills and mountains will all be destroyed when the 
world comes to an end ! 

" For their anointing shall surely be an everlasting 

Eriesthood." Exod. xl. 15. "And he (Phinehas) shall 
ave it, and his seed after him, even the covenant, for 
an everlasting priesthood." Num. xxv. 13. "And 
this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make 
an atonement for the children of Israel once every 
year." Lev. xvi. 34. Was the priesthood to be of 
endless duration % or has it not long since been abol- 
ished by the priesthood of Christ ? Such, my friends, 
is a sample of the Bible use of this word. 

2d. Forever. "He (Solomon) shall build me an 
house, and I will establish it forever." 1 Chron. xvii. 
12. This house although established forever, was 
long since torn down and destroyed! "For the 
land which thou seest, to thee (Abram) will I give it, 
and to thy seed forever." Gen. xiii. 15. "You will 
keep it (the passover) a feast by an ordinance for- 
ever." Exod. xii. 14. Was the observance of the 
passover to be of endless duration ? " They shall be 
your bondsmen forever." Lev. xxv. 46. Were they 
to be bondsmen throughout duration % "I went to 
the bottom of the mountains ; the earth with her bars 
was about me forever " — that is, three days ! Jonah 
ii. 6. "The righteous shall inherit the land, and 
dwell therein forever." Ps. xxxvii. 29. Are the 
righteous to dwell in a land endlessly ? " And his 
master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he 
shall serve him forever," — that is, as long as he live. 
Exod. xxi. 6. " And they shall dwell in the land that 
I have given my servant Jacob, wherein your fathers 



IN THE WEST. 139 

have dwelt, and they shall dwell therein, forever; 
and my servant David shall be their prince forever." 
Ezek. xxvii. 25. This needs no comment. "But 
Judah shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem from gener- 
ation to generation," — from genea to genea. "For I 
have told him that I will judge his house forever, for 
the iniquity which he knoweth." Will the Almighty 
be endlessly judging the house of Eli % And if to 
judge forever does not mean endless judgment, why 
should to punish forever mean endless punishment? 
Can any one tell % Paul, writing to Philemon, says 
of Onesimus, — "For perhaps he departed for a sea- 
son, that thou shouldst receive- him forever" — not 
endlessly, surely ! 

This noted passage, then, affords no evidence that 
punishment will be inflicted duration without end. 
Dr. Samuel Johnson, the great moralist and writer of 
the last century, speaking of this passage, and others 
of like character, says : u They may admit of a miti- 
gated interpretation." 

The discussion continued four days — closed Satur- 
day evening. I delivered a practical discourse on 
Sunday morning, made no reference to the debate, 
and at the close organized a society. Mr. Coon 
preached in the afternoon, and the discussion was his 
text. He misrepresented me, the good faith, and 
poured out volleys of abuse on all who did not sub- 
scribe to his fire and brimstone creed. I replied in 
the evening, and handled Calvinism without gloves, 
but he kept out of the way. 



140 TWENTY-FITE YEAKS 

CHAPTEE IX. 



Questioned J. O'Kane in Dayton — He Beat a Retreat — He Replied 
in Crawfordsville — Three Resurrections, National, Moral, and 
Immortal — Conversation in West Lebanon — Everlasting, For- 
ever — Kingdom of God — Sin, Error, Suffering not Endless — In 
Southern Indiana — Why Live a Christian Life — Bigotry in 
Breckenridge — Discussion with Mr. Dickerson — Calvinism — Ar- 
minianism — universalism debate in chambersburg. 

When in Dayton on one occasion to fill an appoint- 
ment, I heard J. O'Kane preach an excellent sermon 
— it was all Universalism. His subjects were the 
Mosaic and Christian covenants. Moses was the 
head of the first, and Christ the head of the second 
covenant; the blessings of the first were temporal, 
and were designed only for the Jews / the blessings 
of the second were spiritual, including the forgive- 
ness of sin and life everlasting, and were designed for 
all nations. The whole Jewish nation was blessed 
temporally, and all nations, families and kindred 
would be blessed spiritually. He dwelt long and em- 
phatically on these points — proved and illustrated 
them in a very satisfactory manner. My friends evi- 
dently thought that was pretty good Universalism, as 
it certainly was. But I was satisfied that it was all a 
Mind, and I resolved to quiz him a little. As soon as 
he was through, I asked the privilege to propound a 
few questions, and stated I should be much pleased 
if he would answer them. 

"Ask as many questions as you please, and I shall 
be sure to answer them," said he, in not a very agree- 
able tone. 

" I understood you to say that the blessings of the 
Christian covenant are for all mankind, and that all 
nations, families and kindreds of the earth would 



IN THE WEST. 141 

surely participate in those blessings. Did I under- 
stand you correctly ?" 

" Yes, sir." 

" I also understood you, that the blessings of said 
covenant are spiritual — the forgiveness of sin and 
life everlasting. Did I understand you correctly ?" 

" You did." 

" Once more. Do you believe that all nations, fam- 
ilies and kindreds will be blessed by having their sins 
forgiven, and with life everlasting ?" 

" Suppose I don't," said he, in an angry tone. 

" But why equivocate ? You have just said you 
did believe this." 

" You don't know what I said." 

Mr. O'Kane was in a pretty tight place, for it was 
well known, that he was a staunch advocate of eternal 
woe. Why he delivered such a discourse was best 
known to himself. Perhaps he hoped to catch some 
of our brethren by pretending to be with them in 
faith. 

Subsequently, he replied to a discourse I delivered 
in Crawfordsville, from these words : " Marvel not at 
this ; for the hour is coming in the which all that are 
in their graves shall hear his voice, and they shall 
come forth ; they that have done good, unto the resur- 
rection of life ; and they that have done evil, Unto the 
resurrection of damnation." John v. 28, 29. There 
are, I remarked, three distinct resurrections spoken 
of in the Bible — a temporal, a moral, and an immor- 
tal resurrection. "When the Bible speaks of a resur- 
rection, we must learn from the context of the pas- 
sage, which of those resurrections is intended. I will 
briefly notice some passages where these three resur- 
rections are spoken of. 

In Ezekiel, thirty-seventh chapter, the prophet is 
writing of the return of the Jews to Palestine from 
Babylon, where they had been enslaved for seventy 
years. The chapter is headed — " The resurrection of 



142 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

dry bones." I will cite the whole passage : " The 
hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out 
in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the 
valley which was full of bones, and caused me to 
pass by them round about ; and, behold, there were 
very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were 
very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can 
these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, 
thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy 
upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, 
hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God 
unto these bones : Behold, I will cause breath to enter 
into you, and ye shall live; and I will lay sinews 
upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and 
cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye 
shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 
So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I pro- 
phesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and 
the bones came together, bone to his bone. And 
when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up 
upon them, and the skin covered them above; but 
there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, 
Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, Son of man, and 
say unto the wind, Thus saith the Lord God : Come 
from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these 
slain, Atat they may live. So I prophesied as he 
commanded me, and the breath came into them, and 
they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding 
great army." Ezek. xxxvii. 1-10. Now mark the 
explanations : " Then he said unto me, Son of man, 
these bones are the whole house of Israel ; behold, 
they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost : 
we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and 
say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God : JBehold, O 
my people, I will open your graves, and bring you 
into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I 
am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my 
people, and brought you up out of your graves. And 



IN TIIE WEST. 143 

I shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I 
shall place you in your own land ; then shall ye know 
that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, 
saith the Lord." Ezek. xxxvii. 11-14. This was a 
temporal resurrection, and included also a moral res- 
urrection. It was the return of u the whole house 
of Israel " to " the land of Israel from Babylon." 
When in Babylon, they were said to be in their 
graves, their hope was lost, but they were to come up 
out of the graves, and be restored to their beloved 
country. 

The same events are also predicted in Daniel xii. 2. 
"And many of them that sleep in the dust of the 
earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some 
to shame and everlasting contempt." The connection 
shows this to be the same kind of a resurrection spoken 
of in Ezekiel. That all this was to take place within 
a few years, is evident from the following considera- 
tion: 1. The previous verse reads thus: "And at 
that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince 
which stancleth for the children of thy people : and 
there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was 
since there was a nation even to that same time ; and 
at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one 
that shall be found written in the book." Dan. xii. 1. 
This prince Michael was a ruler in Persia, while the 
Jews were in Babylon. He is spoken of in two 
other places in that book. "But the prince of the 
kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty 
days ; but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came 
to help me ; and I remained there with the kings of 
Persia. But I will show thee that which is noted in 
the scripture of truth ; and there is none that holdeth 
with me in these things, but Michael your prince." 
Dan. x. 13, 21. It is clear from these quotations, that 
Michael was a prince of Persia, and that he was living 
when the Jews were in Babylon. Mark also, that 
the resurrection, there spoken of, was to occur in 



144 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

Michael's lifetime, when Michael " would stand up," 
and consequently it must have taken place long ago. 
2. The question was asked, (verse 6) " How long shall 
it be to the end of these wonders ?" and the answer 
given was, " It shall be for a time, times and half a 
time," (verse 7.) In verse 12, the period intended by 
these "times" is stated to be one thousand three 
hundred and thirty-five days," making a little more 
than four years. " Time," singular, means one year, 
"times," plural, three years, "half a time," six 
month. The resurrection, then, referred to, was to 
take place between four and five years from the time 
the prophet saw the vision — another evidence that this 
resurrection was realized in the return of the Jews to 
Palestine from the land of their captivity. 3. Daniel 
was to live to witness the transpiring of this event. 
"Go thy way," said the angel to Daniel, "till the 
end be ; for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the 
end of these days." (Yerse 13.) It then seems cer- 
tain, that this resurrection was to take place within a 
few years after Daniel had a vision of it. Two men, 
at least, then existing, were to live to witness the 
event — Michael, a prince of Persia, and Daniel, a 
prophet of the Lord, and to behold it they had to live 
only about four years and a half longer. The nation 
was raised from its grave, from the dust of the earth, 
and those who were loyal through the dark night of 
bondage, returned to the land of promise with glory 
and honor ; but those who were traitors during the 
times that tried mens' souls, returned with shame and 
contempt. 

The Bible also reveals an immortal resurrection. 
Says Jesus, whose mission it was to bring life and 
immortality to light, " In the resurrection they nei- 
ther marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the 
angels of God in heaven .... God is not the God of the 
dead, but of the living, for all — the dead — live unto 
him." Matt. xxii. 30, 32. This is not a physical,. 



IN THE WEST. 145 

temporal, or moral resurrection, merely, but a resur- 
rection to eternal life, and a blissful immortality. 
The apostle Paul (1 Cor. xv.) dwells long and emphat- 
ically on this glorious resurrection. " As in Adam," 
says he, " all (lie, even so in Christ shall all be made 
alive. . . .It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incor- 
ruption ; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory ; 
it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is 
sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. 
There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." 
" For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and 
this mortal must put on immortality. So when this 
corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this 
mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be 
brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is 
swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy 
sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? The sting of 
death is sin ; and the strength of sin is the law. But 
thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through 
our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Cor. xv. 22, 43, 44, 53-57. 

The terms in these passages clearly indicate, that 
the immortal resurrection is the subject of discourse ; 
and that all mankind are interested in it. It is not a 
resurrection from the grave, or from the dust of the 
earth, for the immortal spirit which now tabernacles 
in the flesh, never dies, except morally, never de- 
scends to the grave or dust, except figuratively, but as 
the wise man says, " Dust shall return to the earth as 
it was ; and the spirit shall return unto God that gave 
it." Eccles. xii. f. The body only dies, it returns to 
the dust — the spirit never; it returns to God. 

Hence my text must refer to some other kind of a 
resurrection, for it speaks of coming up out of graves, 
and the connection makes it certain that a moral res- 
urrection is intended. Immediately preceding the 
text, Jesus says, u As the Father raiseth up the dead 
and quickeneth them; even so, the Son quickeneth 
whom he will." There is here a comparison between. 



146 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

what God was doing, and what Christ was doing. 
God was raising the dead from mortality to immortal- 
ity, and Jesus was raising the morally dead and 
quickening them by his spirit. He continues to 
speak of the moral resurrection he was then effect- 
ing : " Yerily, verily, I say unto you, He that hear- 
eth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath 
everlasting life, and shall not come into condemna- 
tion ; but is passed from death unto life." Those 
whom Christ had quickened by the truth were in 
possession of " everlasting life," had actually "passed 
from death to life" — of course, no other than a moral 
resurrection is intended. He continues : " Yerily, I 
say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when 
the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God ; and 
they that hear shall live." Sinners, the morally dead, 
were then hearing his voice and coming forth to life. 
This is now going on, said Jesus. Then he adds : 
" Marvel not at this : for the hour is coining, in the 
which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 
and they shall come forth ; they that have done good, 
unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done 
evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." The con- 
nection decides that Jesus was speaking of the moral 
resurrection he was then effecting among the lost 
sheep of the house of Israel. During Christ's ministry 
the gospel was proclaimed only to the Jews, and they 
only came forth and were blessed by its quickening 
power; but soon the gospel was to be preached to 
" all nations," " to every creature." Said Jesus to 
the disciples, just before he returned to God, " Go ye 
into all the world and preach the gospel to every 
creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be 
saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned." 
Mark xvi. 15, 16. This is the same subject spoken 
of in my text. When the disciples went into the 
world in obedience to their master, they found man- 
kind dead in trespasses and sins, buried in the graves 



m THE WEST. 147 

of moral degradation, even in the dust of the earth. 
They preached the gospel to the dead nations — some 
who heard it, came forth to life, to salvation, entered 
the kingdom of God, which is righteousness, joy and 
peace in the holy spirit. Others, who heard it, came 
forth to condemnation, and this is explained thus: 
" He that believeth not shall be damned ;" " He that 
doubteth is damned;" " Having damnation because 
they cast off their first faith ;" " He that believeth 
not is condemned already." Similar results have 
followed the proclamation of the truth in all ages and 
climes. Let the truth be proclaimed fully and plainly 
in an ignorant and vicious community, and some with 
joy will receive it, and partake of its blessedness ; 
others will rise up in opposition to it, condemn it, and 
wax worse and worse. 

This was the substance of the discourse, but much 
more was said in defense of the various points here 
briefly stated. Mr. O'Kane replied, but 1 have room 
for only one of his criticisms. 

" The speaker said, that in the immortal resurrec- 
tion, the dead are not said to be raised from the graves, 
and hence in John v. 28, 29, Christ does not speak of 
such a resurrection, for he there tells us, that the dead 
shall be raised from the graves. Now, it happens, that 
in the very chapter the gentleman informs us teaches 
the immortal resurrection, the apostle Paul does teach 
that the dead on that occasion will be raised from the 
grave. ' So,' says he, ' when this corruptible shall 
have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have 
put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the 
saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in vic- 
tory. O death, where is thy sting ? grave, where 
is thy victory V Now which is correct, Mr. Man ford 
or the apostle Paul, for they contradict each other." 

I replied, Mr. O'Kane has my thanks for pointing 
out what he deems an error in my discourse. The 
word graves in Juhn v. 28, is from ?nuemeia, which 



148 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

signifies grave, the receptacle of dead bodies, but the 
word grave in Corinthians, is from hades, which 
means, not the grave, but the state of the dead. The 
meaning of the two terms are very different. One 
signifying the place where dead bodies are deposited, 
but the other, the state of the dead. Now the body 
is not buried in hades, but it is buried in muemeia, 
and at the immortal resurrection the dead come not 
from muemeia, but from hades, the state of death. 
My remark then was strictly correct, that at the im- 
mortal resurrection nothing is said about the dead 
being raised from the grave, muemeia. The state 
of the dead is designated by hades, and that state or 
condition may continue but a moment. The term 
has no reference to time or place, but merely to death. 
"When a person dies, his condition is represented by 
hades, and when the spirit returns to God, it is deliv- 
ered from hades, meaning the state of death. When 
the spirit ascends to God, it can exclaim, " Death is 
swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy 
sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? Thanks be 
to God who giveth us the victory." " Victory, vic- 
tory, victory !" they exclaim, as they burst the shack- 
les of hades, or the state of the dead, and join the 
immortal band in the land of the blessed, 

I delivered two discourses in West Lebanon, and 
spent most of one day in conversation with Mr. Coop- 
er, a Methodist minister. Said Mr. Cooper, "You 
say, forever and everlasting in the Bible signify limit- 
ed duration. The Bible speaks of the 'everlasting 
God,' and the 'everlasting life' of the saints. Now, 
according to your definition of these words, God will 
exist only for a limited period, and the redeemed in 
heaven will exist only for a limited period. Your 
definition dethrones God, and blots out heaven." 

"Not so fast, my friend. True, the primary mean- 
ing of those words is duration, indefinite duration, 
but how long cannot be determined by the words, but 



IN THE WEST. 149 

by the subjects of discourse. "When the Bible speaks 
of the 4 everlasting bills,' ' everlasting priesthood of 
Aaron,' 'the everlasting possession' of Judea by 
the Jews, 'the everlasting doors' of the temple, 
' the servant serving his master forever,' you readily 
admit that those words in those places mean limited 
time. You admit this, because the subjects o£ dis- 
course are limited in their duration. But when those 
words are applied to God, and man's immortal inher- 
itance, they signify unlimited duration, because of 
the subjects to which they are applied. But why 
should everlasting and forever, when applied to pun- 
ishment, bear the meaning they do when related to 
God and immortal life, rather than the signification 
they bear when applied to the priesthood, the hills, or 
the temple?" 

"I admit, that when those words are applied to 
man in this world, they signify limited time, but 
when the Bible speaks of man being punished for- 
ever, and suffering everlasting punishment in the 
immortal world, they must mean the same they do 
when it speaks of the everlasting blessedness of the 
saints in heaven, and joys forevermore at God's right 
hand. Take, for instance, the words of Christ, ' These 
shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the 
righteous into life eternal.' Now this life and this 
punishment pertain to the immortal world, and one 
will continue as long as the other." 

" But it is by no means certain, that Jesus refers to 
heaven or hell beyond the grave. The connection 
clearly shows, that Christ had reference to the bless- 
edness of the subjects of the gospel kingdom, and the 
wretchedness of those out of that kingdom, out of the 
ark of safety. In the connection of the passage, he 
says, ' Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the 
world.' The life spoken of in your text is the life, 
the blessedness of this kingdom, and the New Testa- 



150 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

ment certainly teaches, that the kingdom is establish- 
ed in this world. When John commenced his minis- 
try he said, ' Repent, for the kingdom of God is at 
hand.' When Jesus began his work, he repeated 
what John had said before him, 'Repent, for the 
kingdom of God is at hand.' Soon after this Jesns 
said, 'If I cast out devils by the spirit of God, then 
the kingdom of God is come unto you.' Again said 
Jesus, ' The law and the prophets were until John ; 
since that time the kingdom of God is preached, 
and every man presseth into it.' Near the close of 
our Lord's ministry the Pharisees inquired of him 
when the kingdom would come, which he and John 
sometime before said was at hand. Now, observe his 
reply : ' Neither shall ye say, lo here, or lo there, for 
behold the kingdom of God is within you,' or about, 
or among you, as some, and very correctly, translate 
the passage. The apostle Paul defines this kingdom 
thus : ' The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, 
but righteousness, joy and peace in the holy spirit. 5 
These citations inform us where and what this king- 
dom is. It is the kingdom of truth and righteous- 
ness, that Jesus built up in this world eighteen hun- 
dred years ago. It is called the kingdom of God 
because its principles are all divine ; because the Son 
of God is its king, and to distinguish it from the polit- 
ical kingdoms of earth. In this world there are three 
kingdoms, and three lifes corresponding with those 
kingdoms : 1st, The kingdom of nature ; and the life 
corresponding with it is physical life; 2d, The civil 
kingdom ; and the life corresponding with it is politi- 
cal, or civil life ; 3d, The kingdom of God, and its 
life is spiritual life. You perceive, then, that in the 
passage you cite, Jesus refers not to heaven or hell 
beyond the grave, but to the blessedness of that king- 
dom he labored to build up in this world. When the 
New Testament speaks of the immortal world, and 
heavenly blessedness, it employs different terms. 



IN THE WEST. f 151 

When Jesus speaks on those sublime themes, he says, 
' In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given 
in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven ;' 
and the apostle Peter calls immortality 'An inherit-, 
ance, undetiled, and fadeth not away ;' and the apos- 
tle Paul says, ' This mortal shall put on immortality, 
and as we bear the image of the earthy we shall also 
bear the image of the heavenly.' Remember then, 
that a future state of joy or sorrow was not the theme 
of Jesus on this occasion. 

"But, sin, according to the Bible, will continue as 
long as virtue, misery as long as happiness, death as 
long as life, and therefore forever and everlasting 
when applied to one class must mean as long as when 
applied to the other class." 

But my friend, are you sure, that sin, error, misery, 
and death, will continue as long as virtue, truth, hap- 
piness, and life? I take it, that nothing is immor- 
tal save what harmonizes with the divine character. 
For a wise purpose, things may have a temporary 
existence, that are antagonistic to God's character. 
They may answer some useful end in the economy of 
the universe; but when that end shall be gained, they 
will disappear. The earthquake rends the earth, the 
lightnings flash, the storm howls, the rain falls, for 
useful purposes, and those attained, they cease ; and 
their temporary existence, as they result in immense 
good, is reconcilible with infinite goodness. But an 
everlasting earthquake from pole to pole, eternal light- 
ning, blowing and raining, would be antagonistic to 
infinite wisdom and goodness. So, moral storms and 
earthquakes answer a useful purpose in this world, 
and when that end shall be realized, they will cease. 
But the existence of sin and wrong eternally would 
conflict more with the wisdom and goodness of God, 
than everlasting temporal evils, as the former blast the 
soul, while the latter only blast the body. As earth- 
quakes are less frequent than they were in the past 



152 TWENTY-FIYE YEAES 

ages r and now seldom do mncli harm, and will proba- 
bly continue to diminish, and finally cease to rend the 
earth, so moral evil is slowly losing its sway, and its 
strength will doubtless continue to grow less and less, 
till righteousness shall cover the earth as the waters 
cover the deep. By beautiful analogies we are taught 
in the Bible, that all sin and wrong will end. ' And 
it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and 
he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, 
even every one that is written among the living in 
Jerusalem : when the Lord shall have washed away 
the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have 
purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof 
by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burn- 
ing. And the Lord will create upon every dwelling 
place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud 
and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire 
by night : for upon all the glory shall be a defense." 
Isa. iv. 3-5. "The wolf also shall dwell with the 
lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid ; 
and the calf and the young lion and the fatling to- 
gether ; and a little child shall lead them. And the 
cow and the bear shall feed ; their young ones shall 
lie down together ; and the lion shall eat straw like 
the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole 
of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand 
on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor des- 
troy in all my holy mountain : for the earth shall be 
full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cov- 
er the sea.' Isa. xi. 6-9. ' For my thoughts are not 
your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith 
the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the 
earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and 
my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain 
cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and return- 
eth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it 
bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sow- 
er, and bread to the eater : so shall my word be that 



IN THE WEST. 153 

goeth forth out of my mouth ; it shall not return unto 
me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, 
and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 
For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with 
peace ; the mountains and the hills shall break forth 
before you into singing, and all the trees of the field 
shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall 
come up the fir tree, and instead of the briar shall 
come up the myrtle tree ; and it shall be to the Lord 
for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be 
cut off.' Isa. lv. 8-13. These are elegant passages, 
perfect word-painting, and you see they teach the end 
of all wrong, and the universal reign of truth and 
all righteousness." 

About this time I made a long journey south — 
down the Wabash river to Terre Haute, thence to In- 
dianapolis, Richmond, Madison, and the Green River 
region, in Kentucky. The distance to and from was 
nine hundred miles, was absent three months, and 
delivered seventy-three sermons. The whole journey 
was performed by my favorite mode of locomotion — 
on horseback. 1 spoke in many places where the 
faith I advocated had not before been publicly defend- 
ed, and, of course, met with much opposition. In 
Portland, a preacher in the midst of my sermon said, 
" That is a lie !" and left the house in a great rage. 
" Stop I" said I, " my friend, and sustain, if you can, 
your charge. I will yield the floor." " I will have 
nothing to do with you ; and I warn you to flee from 
the wrath to come." In Boston, near Richmond, an 
old lady called aloud for eggs with which to shower 
me. But none were furnished. In Perrysville, an 
old toper went staggering out of the house, mutter- 
ing, " It's good to live by, but it's not good to die 
by." 

In Shelbyville, a man at the close of a discourse 
remarked, that he could see no good reason for living 
a christian life if Universalism is true. 



154 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

"My friend," I replied, "will you answer me a 
few questions? If you were sure of heaven would 
you put out your eyes ? run hot lead into your ears % 
Would you not rather wish to see and hear in this 
world ?" 

"Yes." 

" If you were sure of being saved, would you not 
eat when hungry, and drink when thirsty ?" 

"Yes." 

" If you were certain of going to heaven, would 
you not love your wife, children, father, mother, bro- 
ther and sister ?" 

"Yes." 

" If you expected to go to heaven when you die, 
when you are sick would you not want to recover ?" 

"Yes." 

" If you were sure of being a happy man next year, 
would you not want to be happy this year V 

"Yes." 

" If you were certain of enjoying good health in 
old age, would you not like to have good health now V 9 

"Yes." 

" If you were sure of being a true Christian ten 
years hence, would you not desire to be a Christian 
this year V 

" Yes." 

" My friend, you have answered your own question 
as I would, and as any one would, save a fool. If 
eternal life is to be our portion in the other world, we 
should lay hold of it in this world. If a heavenly 
feast awaits us on the other side of the river, why not 
partake of the heavenly feast on this side f But this, 
I suppose, puzzles you; you think the Christian is no 
better off in this world than the sinner ; that he treads 
a thorny path, and is crushed by a heavy yoke, hence 
the question, Why live a christian life, if after all, I 
am sure of heaven ? The truth is, the good man, and 
only the good man, is truly blessed in this world. 



IN THE WEST. 155 

He enjoys heaven now in anticipation of one beyond 
the grave. This blissful hope transforms his charac- 
ter into the heavenly image. But there is another 
reason why we should live Christians if heaven is 
sure. ' Godliness hath the promise of the life that 
now is, and of that which is to come.' He who lives 
a godly life is not only well paid for it in this world, 
but he enters the other world with capabilities for 
happiness far exceeding that man who spends this life 
in sin and folly. This is an important consideration. 
There are then, at least, two reason why we should 
be Christians in this world if God has promised that 
all shall finally be redeemed. 1st, We are happier in 
this world for it ; 2d, We shall be happier in the next 
world for it." 

In Breckenridge, Ky., bigotry would not allow me 
to speak in defense of the truth. One preacher took 
special pains to have every door closed against me, 
but sin only triumphed for a season ; for when I re- 
turned a house was obtained, and I delivered a long 
sermon on the sin of bigotry. Showed that it was 
the same thing the world over, in all ages and climes, 
in christian and heathen lands ; that it was as cruel 
as an hyena, bloody as a wolf, and remorseless as a 
tiger ; that it had drenched the earth with gore, and 
covered its surface with the slain of human kind ; that 
it had slain Jesus, the prophets and apostles, and was 
still at its wicked work; and the only reason why 
bigots are not now crucifying, beheading, hanging, 
quartering and burning the saints of the Lord was, 
the laws of the land will not let them indulge in such 
amusements, but they were doing all they dare do — ■ 
they were stabbing character, surpressing free thought, 
and persecuting the saints of God. I considerably 
extended my acquaintance by this journey, and ob- 
tained many subscribers for the Teacher. 

Soon after my return, I had a debate with Mr. 
Dickerson, of Park county, Ind. He was a Scotch 



156 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

Presbyterian — a Calvinist, and the bluest of the 
blue. He contended stoutly, that all God wills to 
save, and that Christ died for, will be saved ; but, 
said he, God wills to save only the elect, and Christ 
died only for the elect, and he supposed that they 
compose about one tenth of mankind. In one of my 
speeches, I remarked : 

Mr. Dickerson comes out plainly, boldly, indepen- 
dently, in favor of old-fashioned Calvinism. He has 
no faith in the modern improvements of Calvinism ; 
he takes it as it flowed from the pen of John Calvin. 
He tells us, that God wills, purposes the salvation of 
only part of mankind. It' he is correct, it seems to 
me, the Bible needs revising, for it certainty teaches 
that it is the will and purpose of God that all man- 
kind shall be saved. The apostle Paul expressly says, 
" God will have all men to be saved, and to come to 
the knowledge of the truth." 1 Tim. ii. 4. " Having 
made known unto us the mystery of his will, accord- 
ing to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in 
himself; that in the dispensation of the fullness of 
times he might gather together in one all things in 
Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on 
earth; even in him." Eph. i. 9, 10. In these pas- 
sages the purpose of God in the creation of man is 
clearly revealed. It is his will, pleasure and purpose 
to save all, to bless all in Christ. Does all mean 
part? Is the Bible a riddle? If so, let us finish the 
riddle by saying virtue means vice, truth error, happi- 
ness misery, love hatred, life death, salvation damna- 
tion, heaven hell, Christ Belial, and God means devil. 
This would be carrying out the interpretation Calvin- 
ism gives the Bible. How a man, standing in the 
midst of God's works, and with the Bible in his hand, 
can for a moment assert, that the Author of all these 
glories all around, can will and purpose the eternal 
wretchedness of nine tenths of mankind, is a problem 
of intellectual blindness I cannot solve. Before I can 



IN THE WEST. 157 

subscribe to such a creed my reason must be destroy- 
ed, my conscience deadened, my eyes put out, my 
ears stopped, and my heart, become as hard as ada- 
mant. The gentleman says, this is an evidence of my 
carnal mindness; and if I could see with spiritual 
eyes — he must mean Calvin's eyes, the eyes that be- 
held Michael Servetus, burning on a pile of green 
wood — I should be charmed with the beauties of 
Calvinism. 

2. It was the mission of Jesus to do the will and 
purpose of God, and I have proved that it is God's 
will and purpose to save the world — not one here 
and there — but the world. Hence the joyous lan- 
guage of the angels when they announced his birth : 
" Fear not : for behold, I bring you good tidings of 
great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you 
is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which 
is Christ the Lord. And suddenly there was with 
the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising 
God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and 
on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke ii. 10, 
11, 13, 14. This language does not comport at all 
with the theory that it was the mission of Jesus to 
bless only one tenth of mankind. John, directing 
attention to Jesus, said, " Behold the Lamb of God, 
which taketh away the sin of the world." John i. 29. 
Said Jesus, concerning his mission, " And I, if 1 be 
lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to me." 
John xii, 32. The apostles understood it to be the 
mission of Jesus to save the world — not one tenth 
of our race. " We have seen and do testify that the 
Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world." 
1 John iv. 14. "He gave himself a ransom for all, 
to be testified in due time." 1 Tim. ii. 6. "And he 
is the propitiation for our sins : and not for ours only, 
but also for the sins of the whole world." 1 John ii. 2. 
"And, having made peace through the blood of his 
cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by 



158 TWENTY-FIVE YEAE8 

him, I say, whether they £>e things in earth, or things 
in heaven." Col. i. 20. " God was in Christ, recon- 
ciling the world unto himself." 2 Cor v. 19. But 
why cite more testimony % I could fill my hour with 
quotations from the New Testament, showing that 
Christ's mission was not a partial one, but that it 
embraced all the sons and daughters of earth. He 
was born the Savior of the world, and he lived, died, 
arose, ascended, and still is, the Savior of the world. 
That truth corresponds with his spirit, his labors, his 
moral precepts, his principles and his prayers. Cal- 
vinism crucifies the true Christ, and sets up an impos- 
tor, an anti-christ, in his stead. It also denies the true 
God, and substitutes a monster. 

This speech kindled the ire of Mr. Dickerson. He 
denounced me in unmeasured terms, and marshaled 
all his strength in defense of Calvinism. He was 
familiar with its strongest arguments, and he paraded 
them to the best advantage. He said IJniversalism 
is Arminianism gone to seed, and he denounced both 
systems with much bitterness. This led me to re- 
mark — I believe in all the truth there is in Armini- 
anism and Calvinism, and there is some truth in both 
systems. Calvinism says, that all God wills to save 
will surely be saved — not one lost. Yery good ; I 
can say, amen to that. Arminianism says, that God 
wills the salvation of aU, Yery good ; I can say, 
amen to that. I will put these two truths, and the 
sequence from them, in the form of a sylogism : 

1. Arminianism — It is God's will, that all men 
shall be saved. 

2. Calvinism — God's will shall be done. 

3. Conclusion — All will be saved. 

I cast aside the dross of Calvinism and Arminian- 
ism, and retain the pure gold of both systems. 

He pitched into my sylogism rough shod, and in 
reply, I gave him several from the Bible. 

1. It is the will of God that all men shall be saved. 



IN THE WEST. 159 

Proof: "Who will have all men to be saved." 1 Tim. 
ii. 4. 

2. God's will is to be done. Proof: "He doeth 
according to his will in the armies of heaven, and 
among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can 
stay his hand, or say unto him, what doest thou?" 
Dan. iv. 35. " He doeth all things after the council 
of his own will." Eph. i. 11. 

3. Conclusion — All will be saved. 

1. God purposes the salvation of all men. Proof: 
Eph. i. 9, 10, above quoted. 

2. God's purpose will be effected. Proof: "As I 
have purposed so shall it stand — for the Lord hath 
purposed, and who shall disannul it?" Isa. xiv. 24, 
27. " I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass ; I 
have purposed it, I will also do it." Isa. xlvi. 11. 

3. Conclusion — All will be saved. 

1. All were given to Christ. Proof: "Thou has 
given him power over all flesh, that he may give eter- 
nal life to as many as thou has given him." John 
xvii. 2. 

2. All shall be saved who were given to Christ. 
Proof: "All that the Fatmer giveth me shall come to 
me, and he that cometh to me I will in no wise cast 
away." John vi. 37. 

3. Conclusion — All will be blessed with eternal 
life. 

About this time, I held an oral discussion in Cham- 
bersburg, Fountain county, with a Baptist minister — 
have forgotten his name. I arrived in due time, but 
my opponent did not make his appearance. There 
was a large assembly, in a beautiful grove ; and after 
waiting about one hour, another minister took his 
place, and the discussion proceeded. He made one 
speech, and while I was replying the expected man 
made his appearance. When I was through he pro- 
posed, that each of us make one speech, and then 
close the debate j but I insisted that we should occupy 



160 TWENTY-FIVE YEABS 

two days according to agreement. He was rather a 
weak brother ; but he knew the book of Kevelation 
from A to izzard, and all the other mysterious portions 
of the Bible. He could tell how deep was the " bot- 
tomless pit," how large was the " red dragon," how 
big was his "head," "horns," and "crown;" could 
give the exact length of his " tail," that cast to earth 
the " third part of the stars of heaven." He was 
deeply versed in all that kind of lore, but drank 
shallow draughts of "useful knowledge or common 
sense. But a large number attended the discussion, 
and I had an excellent opportunity to talk to the 
people. 



IN THE WEST. 161 

CHAPTER X. 



Moved, to Terre Haute — Lectured in Fort Wayne — A Discussion 
There — Dr. Thompson — Visited Illinois — Opposition — Discussion 
in Charleston — Prayed For — Called Infidel — Debate in Green 
Castle — Conditions of Salvation — God's Will — All are Spirits 
■ — Form of the Teacher Changed — J. Burt and J. BT. Jordan, Ed- 
itors — Oliver Cromwell — Foundation of Character — In Many 
Places — A Celebration — Meeting in the Rain — Fourth of July 
Celebration — Debate in Martinsville. 

In 1843, I moved the Teacher to Terre Haute, 
ninety miles down the "Wabash river, as I deemed 
that place a better location than Lafayette for its pub- 
lication. Also made that town my head-quarters. 
The country north and west of Lafayette, in those 
days, was thinly settled, but in the southern portion 
of the state, there was a denser population, hence a 
better field in which to circulate the Teacher. I still 
continued my monthly circuit on both sides of the 
"Wabash river, from Terre Haute to Lafayette, 
preaching in twenty different places. B. F. Foster 
was pastor of the Terre Haute society, and a meeting- 
house was being erected in that place. But soon my 
services were so urgently demanded west and south 
of Terre Haute, that I dropped some of the places on 
the circuit, and supplied the wants of friends else- 
where. I did so with much reluctance, as there was 
no one to take my place. There were then thirteen 
societies within that circuit where there was not one 
when I first visited that region, and one meeting- 
house was finished, and two beiug built. 

At the earnest solicitation of Dr. Thompson, of 
Fort Wayne, I visited that place, and delivered a 
series of discourses. These were the first sermons 
on the Eestitution ever delivered in that town, and 



162 TWENTY-FIYE YEATCS 

the j caused much excitement. An Episcopal clergy- 
man proposed debating with me, and we accordingly 
spent two days in discussion. The assemblies were 
large, and, I trust, much good was effected. Dr. 
Thompson was a prominent citizen of Fort Wayne, 
and an intellectual and christian man. Three years 
after, while a candidate for Congress, he died, lament- 
ed universally where he was known. While on that 
journey, I preached in Huntington, Wabash, Peru, 
and several other places, where Universalism was 
hardly ever heard of before. 

I took a trip westward into Illinois, and preached 
in Elbridge, Paris, Grand Yiew, Brewetts' Creek, 
Bloomfield, Oakland, Charleston, Shelbyville, Cold 
Springs, Marshall and Greenup. In not one of these 
places had the people heard a discourse in defense of 
" the restitution of all things," and, of course, my 
preaching was a great curiosity. In Paris, a minister 
lifted up his warning voice, but would not let me occu- 

J)y his house to reply. He wanted his people to hear 
lis side only. I, however, made an expose of his ser- 
mon in the Court-house, to a large assembly, and ob- 
tained a large number of subscribers for the Teacher. 
In Oakland, I found some excellent friends, and sub- 
sequently preached there monthly for two years. In 
Charleston, the meetings stirred up sectarianism to its 
depths, and a preacher by the name of Tichner dared 
me to debate with him. Not being badly frightened 
by his bluster, I agreed to debate with him four days. 
The first proposition was, " Immortal blessedness is 
conditional !" 

In my first speech in the morning, I showed the 
result of the position, that immortal blessedness is 
conditional in the sense Mr. Tichner intended. If he 
is correct, I remarked, but a small portion of man- 
kind will ever partake of that blessedness. 1. All 
children, dying in childhood, are lost, as they comply, 
in this world, with no conditions. 2. Idiots neither 



EST THE WEST. 163 

believe nor obey the gospel in this* world — comply 
with no conditions here — and will never, consequent- 
ly, partake of immortal blessedness. 3. All who 
lived and died before Christ's advent, complied with 
no gospel condition, hence all those countless millions 
are lost — forever lost. 4. Pagans, Jews, Mahome- 
tans, since Christ's day, have all gone down to their 
graves, without faith in Christ or the gospel, and 
therefore they are all lost bej^ond redemption. My 
friend is a Campbellite, and will not admit that any 
comply with gospel conditions, who are not immersed 
in water — down then goes Catholics, Methodists, 
Presbyterians, Episcopalians, yea, all who are not 
immersed. If he is correct, only one here and there 
will be saved, while the mass of mankind, nearly all, 
will be doomed to suffer immortal agony, for one of 
his propositions affirms the endless punishment of the 
unsaved. The gentleman may not believe all this — 
I cannot say how that is — but I am dealing with his 
proposition ; and it involves the ruin of nearly all 
mankind. I once heard him deliver a sermon on the 
conditions of salvation, and in that discourse he did 
not intimate that one could be saved without immer- 
sion. His creed unchurches all but his little sect, and 
sends all to perdition but his party. 

He had another speech to make before adjourn- 
ment, and he occupied only half of his allotted time, 
but said not a word about what I had shown to be 
the result of his proposition. In my reply, I called 
attention to my former speech, and to the fact that no 
attempt had been made to refute it, and remarked, 
that the gentleman must either show that my deduc- 
tions are false, or abandon his proposition. lie must 
do one or the other. He dared me to debate with 
him, boasted that he would annihilate my faith the 
first day before noon, and many of his friends are 
here to see him do it. We adjourned till two o'clock 
in the afternoon. Met according to adjournment. 



164 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

Mr. Tichner and his friends were in trouble. They 
knew not what to do. They saw that I had their man 
in my grasp, and meant to hold him. I looked on, 
but said nothing. Finally, one of his brethren came 
to me, and admitted that I had the advantage of 
brother Tichner, and wished me to release him. The 
preacher looked blue ; he did not know which way to 
turn. I pitied him, and proposed that we drop the 
first proposition, which we were to debate two clays, 
and take up the second proposition — "Will all man- 
kind enjoy immortal blessedness ?" He readily con- 
sented, and the discussion then went on. Mr. Tich- 
ner and his friends were much mortified at the result 
of the debate. He soon ceased preaching, went to 
California, and made shipwreck of his faith and char- 
acter. 

I lectured in Greenup ; and while there, a preacher 
prayed the Lord, either to convert the Universalists, 
or send them to hell, and he did not seem to care 
which disposition was made of them. A Presbyteri- 
an minister in Grand View, delivered a labored ser- 
mon against " Infidelity in all its forms," and, of 
course, " the grace of God which bringeth salvation 
to all men," was one of its worst "forms." "That 
phase of infidelity," said he, " is the best baited of 
the whole batch. Read not their books, their papers, 
their Teacher — hear not their preachers, talk not on 
that subject with any of the believers in that damna- 
ble system. Pray for them, but don't talk with them. 
It is a heresy hot from hell, and have nothing to do 
with it." A Methodist divine in Shelbyville, gave 
notice that he would, the Lord permitting, preach a 
sermon against Universalism, the next Sunday. But 
notwithstanding this opposition, I thanked God and 
took courage. Many rejoiced in the testimony they 
heard, and resolved that their lives should correspond 
with the purity of their new faith. 

Being in Green Castle, Ind., I heard a discourse by 



IN THE WEST. 165 

James Mathes, concerning the conditions of salva- 
tion, and at its close, I delivered, at his request, a 
short sermon. Without controverting any of his 
positions, I attempted to show, that all mankind 
would finally comply with gospel conditions of salva- 
tion. When I got through, he proposed a debate on 
the subject of my discourse. In due time we met in 
Green Castle, and devoted two days to the investiga- 
tion of that subject. Mr. Mathes was, and still is, a 
prominent man in his denomination. He said in the 
discussion, " There are three conditions of salvation : 
1st, Faith ; 2d, Baptism ; 3d, Repentance. He, and 
he only, who complies with these conditions, is enti- 
tled to salvation." 

I answered, If the gentleman on the other side is 
correct, but a small squad of mankind will be saved, 
for he earnestly denies, that any one can comply with 
one of the conditions named, in the other world. We 
must believe, repent, be immersed in this world, or 
be lost forever ; no opportunity for salvation will be 
granted beyond the grave ; God's mercy is confined 
to this life, but his vengeance will extend through 
eternity ; his mercy is only the evanescent spark of a 
flint, but his wrath will burn forever ; this life is only 
the infancy of our existence, but his creed makes it 
the hinge on which our destiny turns ; now, man is a 
moral agent, but death will destroy that agency, and 
he will be compelled to lie down in sin and darkness 
through the eternal ages ; death bounds God's mercy 
— beyond it, the righteous will need no mercy, and 
the wicked will be allowed none. I cannot subscribe 
to such a partial, malignant and cruel creed. I believe 
in conditions of salvation, and that a soul will never 
be deprived of complying with those conditions. 
The conditions, in sum and substance, are, knowledge 
of the truth, and love to God, and love to man ; and 
no one can be saved in this world or in the next world 
without that knowledge and love. That is the strait 



166 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

and narrow way ; there is no other way to be saved 
in time or eternity. True, all do not possess that 
knowledge, or exercise that love in this world, but as 
the light and heat of the sun are not confined to this 
world, but extend to all the worlds in the solar sys- 
tem, so God's mercy is not exhausted on earth, but 
extends to all time, and to all worlds. 

It is certainly God's will that all shall be saved and 
come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. ii. 4.) 
The gentleman, though, denies that truth in toto. 
True, he admits, that it is God's will that you, and I, 
and all who now live on earth, shall be saved, but he 
contends that all the sons of error and sin, as soon 
as they leave this world, are deprived of all power, 
of all opportunity, to reform their lives, and must lie 
down in sin and error eternally. But mark the text, 
" God will have all men to be saved, and come to the 
knowledge of the truth." It is God's will now that 
all shall be saved. God is unchangeable ; he is the 
same yesterday, to-day and forever. Men may 
change their will, purpose, but his will, his purpose, 
is the same through all time, through all eternity. It 
was God's will six thousand years ago, that all should 
be saved ; it is God's will now that all shall be saved ; 
it will be God's will six thousand years hence, yea, 
through the eternal ages, that all men shall be saved, 
and come to the knowledge of the truth. As it is 
God's will now, that all shall be saved, all are now 
capable of salvation — none are reprobated, none are 
cast away; and as it always will be God's will that all 
shall be saved, all ever will be capable of salvation — 
none will be reprobated, none cast away. What is 
true of God's nature, character, and will now, ever 
will be true of God's nature, character and will, hence 
the golden gates of salvation ever will be open to 
mankind. We read that the heavenly city has gates 
all around it, on the east, west, north and south, and 
that they are never shut by day or by night. 



IN THE WEST. 167 

I know it is a very common notion, and Mr. Mathes 
preaches it, that the ignorant and vicious will have no 
opportunity to become wiser or better in the other 
world; that as they breathe their last breath, and 
heave their last sigh, they will be compelled to re- 
main forever. And to prove this monstrous dogma, 
I have heard persons repeat such home-made texts as 
these : " As the tree falls so it shall lie ;" " As death 
leaves us, so judgment finds us;" "If you die in 
your sins, where I go ye cannot come." I need not 
inform you, that these are all spurious texts. Per- 
haps it will be asked, does not the Bible say, " There 
is no repentance in the grave ?" Nothing of the kind 
is in the Good Book. And even if it were there it 
would not contradict my position. What is in the 
grave? Nothing but the body, and that cannot re- 
pent, in the grave or out of it, dead or alive. Where 
is the spirit when the body is mouldering in the 
grave? The wise man informs us, "Dust returns to 
dust as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave 
it." This is the destiny of all. The body is from 
the earth, the spirit from God, and when the copart- 
nership between the body and the spirit are dissolved, 
the body descends, and the spirit ascends ; the one to 
its mother-earth, and the other to its Father-God. 
Man is a spirit; Christ and the apostles talked to 
spirits ; I am addressing spirits ; all revelation — its 
precepts and promises — are addressed to spirits; and 
when the great Gentile apostle said, " God will have 
all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of 
the truth," he was speaking of all spirits, whether in 
this world or in the eternal world, whether in the 
body, or in the house not made with hands. I repeat, 
wherever a spirit exists unsaved, it is GocPs will that . 
he shall be saved, and God will even work in all to 
will and to do his pleasure. 

Mr. Mathes admits, that it is God's will that sin- 
ners shall be saved while they are in this world, but 



168 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

he contends that it is his will that sinners in the spirit 
world shall not be saved. Now why this difference ? 
Why is it God's will that I shall now be saved, and 
at the same time his will that I shall not be saved 
beyond the grave, if I should there need salvation ? 
Is' not reformation of character a good thing any 
where and every where? I take it, that God's gov- 
ernment is the same in all worlds, and at all times. 
It is perfect, and therefore uniform and unchangeable. 
He now requires all, and ever will require all, to 
learn the truth, and walk in the ways of life, and 
therefore he never will compel a soul to lie down in 
sin, darkness and death, one moment, in time or 
eternity. 

When the third volume of the Teacher commenced, 
it was changed to a quarto form, and issued semi- 
monthly, instead of monthly ; and James Burt and 
J. H. Jordan, became associate editors. Mr. Burt 
was recently from the East, where he had preached 
several years. He was a good writer, and a worthy 
man. He was connected with the paper one year, 
when his name, at his request, was dropped, and he 
ceased preaching. Mr. Jordan was not a minister, 
but a school teacher. He subsequently became a 
physician, and at the present time, is editor and pub- 
lisher of the Indianapolis (Ind.) Gazette, a daily and 
weekly paper, conducted with vigor and ability. He 
wields a strong pen, and is an influential writer. For 
several years, Dr. Jordan assisted me in issuing the 
Teacher, and his contributions were always perused 
with much interest. 

I opened a new field about this time, in the south- 
ern part of Indiana. Lectured in Bowling Green. 
Oliver Cromwell resided there — a descendant of En- 
gland's great Protector. He was an aged man, intel- 
ligent, and an ardent defender of the liberal faith. 
He said the Protector was his great-great grandfather. 

A zealous Methodist class leader tried to reply to 



IN THE WEST. 169 

one of my sermons. " If your faith is correct, why 
all this labor ? Why form societies, build meeting- 
houses, support ministers, or try to serve the Lord in 
any way ?" I answered thus : 

I understand from the gentleman's remarks, that 
he supposes that the fear of hell, and the hope of 
heaven, are the only reasons why we should attend to 
the duties of life ; and according to the confession of 
sectarians generally, these are the moving causes of 
all their christian efforts ; hence their first and last 
objection to Universalism is, that it removes all 
inducements to live a virtuous life. This degrading 
objection is in the mouth of nearly all, from the doc- 
tor of divinity to the most humble member. If we 
take them at their word, they organize churches, build 
meeting-houses, employ ministers, send missionaries 
to the heathen, to escape hell and reach heaven ; they 
pray, preach, attend meetings, go among the heathen, 
to escape hell and reach heaven ; they deal justly, 
love mercy, and walk humbly before Grod, to escape 
hell and reach heaven. According to their own con- 
fession, these are the only motives that urge them 
onward in their christian course. Now, this is all 
wrong ; they build on a false, dangerous foundation ; 
they build on the sand ; they are influenced, governed 
solely by selfish considerations. They work for pay, 
and pay they will have or turn rebels. Piety with 
them is a ticket past hell into heaven. Now, this is a 
wretched foundation for a christian life. In truth, 
character built on such a basis, is hay, wood and stub- 
bie, and liable to be consumed at any moment, hence 
so much back-sliding among Orthodox church mem- 
bers. They stand on slippery places. 

Universalism lays a better foundation, presents bet- 
ter motives for living a christian life. It makes a rea- 
sonable appeal to man's hopes and fears, but its strong 
foundation is in principle. It teaches that we should 
revere the truth, and practice righteousness, because 



170 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

we love truth and righteousness; should love God 
and man because of the goodness of God and the 
goodness in man ; be truthful because we love the 
truth, and deal justly with our fellow men because we 
love justice and righteousness. When character is 
built on such a foundation, it is as permanent as the 
everlasting hills. It takes time to form character of 
this kind, but when the work is done, it is well done. 
Such persons do not need conversion at every camp- 
meeting in their county. 

Lectured in Spencer, Gosport, Bloomington, Mar- 
tinsville, Morgantown, Franklin, Columbus and Nash- 
ville. In all these places the liberal faith had not 
before been preached. But I found in most of them 
an elect few who had long cherished it amid all sorts 
of opposition. Faithful souls! They were true to 
their convictions, though standing alone, targets for 
bigots to shoot at. In Bloomington I lectured several 
times, and a minister tried to point out my errors, as 
he termed the noblest and most glorious of truths. 
Mr. Labertew, a merchant, and zealous friend, resided 
there. He subsequently built a meeting-house at his 
own expense ; but there not being sufficient number 
of believers to act with him in keeping up meetings, 
he sold it. Held a meeting in Gosport; the house 
was full, and several hundred were out of doors ; .and 
although the rain poured down in torrents, they 
remained through the services. Here I subsequently 
had many conflicts with those of the partial faith. 
Near Nashville I attended a Fourth-of-July celebra- 
tion. After the dinner was over, and the patriotic 
speeches made, I gave the people a sermon. Lec- 
tured in Martinsville in the Court-house ; a clergyman 
replied, and arrangements were made for me to have 
a debate in that place with Mr. Scott, a Methodist 
presiding elder. It was to continue four days. He 
had recently debated with J. Mathes, and coining out 
of it victorious, all were sure he would make short 



IN THE WEST. 171 

work of me, and my faith. But they were disap- 
pointed. Mr. Scott got mad, and left the rostrum, 
declaring that he would discuss no more with me. 
But the moderators persuaded him to continue the 
allotted time. After he got through, another minister 
tried his hand at the work, but many thought he fared 
worse than his predecessor. Weighing about two 
hundred and fifty pounds, and as fat as butter, he 
kept in good humor. Lectured in Columbus and 
Franklin. In both places I soon after had discus- 
sions. This was a laborious journey, for it was war, 
war, from the beginning to the end of it. 



172 TWENTr-FIVE TEABS 

CHAPTER XL 



Journey into Northern Illinois — Temperance Lecture — Result op 
Temperate Drinking — Married — Homeward Bound — High Wa- 
ters — Difficult Traveling — Trouble in Crossing Streams — A 
Cold Bath — End of the "Bridal Tour" — A Hard Ride — Debates 
with E. Kingsbury — In Northern Indiana — Conversation with 
an Indian — Dark Man and Dark Night — Explanation of He- 
brews ix. 21, 28 — End of the World — The Earth and Man, 

In June, 1844, with buggy and two horses, I com- 
menced a journey into the northern part of Illinois. 
Preached in Newport, Ind., and became acquainted 
with several devoted believers in the Restitution. 
Lectured on temperance in Perry sville. Related the 
following sad story of a family, educated to the " tem- 
perate use " of liquor : 

The husband and father was wealthy, educated, and 
occupied a prominent position in the community in 
which he resided. In his days of vigor, he held 
important political and military stations; was an 
officer in the last war with Great Britain, and after its 
termination, honorably occupied a seat in the legisla- 
tive hall of his native state. He was what is called a 
" temperate drinker." His children were instructed 
by precept and example to be temperate drinkers. 
The decanters were ever full of the choicest liquors, 
and all daily partook of the sparkling beverage. All 
of them despised intemperance, and hated the sight 
of a drunkard. The two sons married into families 
equal to their own; and the daughter, an accom- 
plished lady, was wedded to the man of her choice. 
The father, with joy beheld his interesting family set- 
tled around him, highly respected for their intellect- 
ual and moral qualities, and bountifully blessed with 
the good things of this world. He was comforted 



IN THE WEST. 173 

with the reflection that his declining years would be 
blessed by virtuous children. 

My informant, who had spent his childhood and 
youth in the town where this family lived, after sev- 
eral years absence, returned to the home of his early 
life. He repaired to the residence of the venerable 
man, where he had spent many happy hours in by- 
gone days. Enquired for beloved names, for the sons 
and daughter, the associates of the morning of his 
life. The aged father burst into tears; he wept 
aloud ; he rung his hands with anguish. The tale 
was all horror that the trembling lips of the old man 
related. The daughter had disgraced herself by 
intemperance, and was mouldering in a premature 
grave. The two brothers were ruined by rum-drink- 
ing. A short time before, the wife of one of them, 
after enduring the brutal treatment of her husband 
for years, had lied from him while he was in a drunk- 
en fit, and plunged into a pond, and was drowned, to 
escape from wretchedness, and the monster. The 
wife of the other had left him ; she would no longer 
live with the brute. One of the sons was at home, 
but intemperance had made him a cripple and an 
idiot. The mother of the family had long since sunk 
into a welcome grave, overwhelmed with sorrow. 
The father was descending with grief into the grave. 
His expectations were blasted ; his hopes were cut off. 
His family, in which was centered his affections, and 
from whom he expected support and consolation, were 
miserably destroyed — part sunk into a dishonored 
grave, to hide their shame, and the remainder, out- 
casts in the world. 

The misfortunes of this family, in all probability, 
originated in temperate drinking. The seed of sin 
and death was sown by the father, while the children 
were under his roof. A taste for intoxicating drinks 
was there acquired, and cultivated, and when they 
left home, they continued to cherish it, till by degrees 



174 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS * 

it became the ruling passion. The parents and chil- 
dren reaped a fearful reward. What an awful sin for 
parents thus to .vitiate the taste of their children ! 
Let them take warning. They will as surely reap 
the reward of their evil doing, as there is a God in 
heaven. For so great a sin to go unpunished nature's 
laws must be reversed. 

Delivered two sermons in Rainsville. Urged my 
brethren to live as becometh believers in the beet 
religion ever entertained by men or angels. It is all 
truth and righteousness, and our character and life 
should be truthful and righteous. It is better to be 
an Orthodox christian, than a Universalist sinner. 
"We might as well be without the knowledge of the 
truth, as to hold it in unrighteousness. The gospel 
blesses those only who practice it ; to such only it " is 
the power of God unto salvation." Had a meeting 
in Montgomery, 111., and at the close a Baptist 
preacher sung out a reply. It was decidedly funny. 
I will not attempt to repeat it, for I cannot do justice 
to the subject. Forded the Kankakee river where 
the city of Kankakee now stands, but there was no 
city there then — nothing but a wild prairie. The 
river was deep — deeper than I expected — and there 
was imminent danger of horses, buggy, and all, being 
washed down stream. Some men on the shore 
watched me with much interest, but they could have 
rendered me no assistance if I had gotten into diffi- 
culty, as there was no boat near. Lectured in Bour- 
bon ais Grove. It is a French village, and I put up 
with the principal man of the settlement. He was a 
Catholic, but said he believed what I preached. 

On July 3d, in Wilmington, 111., was married to 
Miss H. Bryant, by Eev. W. H. Dean, of Joliet. 
This lady is a native of New York, and for a year or 
two previous to this date, was one of the Principals 
of a seminary in Warren ville, 111. Left Wilmington 
with my charge, to return to Terre Haute. But the 



IK THE WEST. 175 

windows of heaven opened, and the fountains of the 
great deep were broken up. The summer of 1844 
will long be remembered in the West, as the summer 
of floods, tornadoes, thunder and lightning. The 
whole country was inundated, and traveling was very 
dangerous business. We came near being swept 
away, on crossing a rapid stream, the first day of our 
journey. Arriving at the Kankakee river, we found it 
past fording, and nothing but a small skiff" with which 
to cross the stream. The carriage was taken to pieces, 
and carried over in parcels, and the horses swam the 
river. A few miles south we encountered Beaver 
Creek — then a mighty river. Again the buggy was 
ferried over by piece-meal, and the horses swam at 
the side of the frail bark, I holding them by their 
heads. Every slough was a river, which we had to 
ford or swim. A few miles from the Iroquois river, 
when far from a house, a terrible storm burst on our 
heads. There was no shelter, and for about one hour 
we were exposed to one of the most violent storms I 
ever witnessed. The wind blew a tornado, the thun- 
der crashed fearfully, the lightning flashed sheets of 
fire, the rain and hail poured down in torrents, and to 
add to the terror of the scene, the trees came crashing 
to the ground, all around us. We finally reached a 
house on the bank of the river, and were right glad to 
have a roof between us and that wild elemental war. 
There we had to remain several days, as it was impos- 
sible to proceed till the waters abated. But I was 
very restless, as I had an engagement in Oakland, 
111., and had barely time to reach there without any 
detention. I had agreed to have a discussion in that 
place with E. Kingsbury, a Presbyterian minister of 
faanville, but that last storm prevented my filling the 
engagement. 

The bridge across the Iroquois river being washed 
away by the flood, the carriage was again taken to 
pieces, and ferried over, while the horses swam to the 



176 TWENTY-FIVE TEARS 

opposite shore. But one of them came near drown- 
ing, as he became entangled in the top of a tree that 
had drifted down; he was finally rescued, and we 
were soon on the way to encounter more trouble. 
Reached the Wabash river bottom, opposite Monte- 
zuma, and found it all inundated — the water from 
one to three feet deep. When about half way across, 
in attempting to cross a low place on a corduroy 
bridge, all under water, and not visible, the water 
being so dirty, we missed the middle of the corduroy, 
and carriage, horses, bride and bridegroom, went over 
the side into the mud and water. The bride, a per- 
fect hero, stood in the mud and water three feet deep, 
holding the frightened horses, while the bridegroom 
transferred the baggage from the buggy to the trunk 
of a fallen tree, which happily was not far distant. 
We finally got out of the slough, in a pretty bad 
plight though, and crossed the river on to dry land, 
and the next day reached Terre Haute — thus ended 
our bridal tour. 

Mr. Kingsbury, named above, gave notice that he 
should deliver a discourse near Oakland, against the 
doctrine of the Restitution, and added, that he was 
willing I should reply, if I thought proper, at the 
close of his sermon. I was in Covington, Ind., the 
day before he was to deliver said discourse, and being 
detained in crossing the Wabash river till near sun- 
down, I rode most of the night, and reached the 
appointed place a few minutes after he had dismissed 
his congregation. I rode seventy miles, between four 
o'clock Thursday, and twelve o'clock Friday, without 
any refreshment, and with about two hours rest. The 
congregation was called together. Mr. Kingsbury 
furnished me notes of his sermon, and I spoke two 
hours in reply. He replied, and I spoke another 
hour. We subsequently spent four days in discussion 
in Oakland. Mr. Kingsbury not being perfectly sat- 
isfied with his effort proposed a written debate. He 



IN THE WEST. 177 

agreed to furnished twelve letters for the Teacher. 
He wrote five, and then gave up the controversy. 

I again visited Northern Indiana; and even ex- 
tended my journey into Michigan, preaching where- 
ever I could gather a congregation. Had some con- 
versation with an intelligent Indian near Peru, on the 
Upper Wabash. 

" I no believe in your Bible, or your Jesus Christ — 
not a word of it." 

" Well, my friend, do you believe in a God, and a 
hereafter ?" 

"That I do. I believe in the Great Spirit, and 
that he will take good care of all his children. No 
man ever killed him, as your Bible says, man killed 
God. He is away beyond the reach of arrow or 
cross. Who brought God to life if he was killed? 
You tell if you can." 

" The Bible does not say that God was slain. He 
is a Great Spirit, and in him we all live, move and 
have our being. You say truly, that man cannot 
harm him. Jesus Christ was not God, but rather a 
divine man ; and he was sent here by the Great Spirit 
to instruct us in wisdom's ways. But do you not 
think God has sent prophets to this world to instruct 
his children ?" 

" I do. My nation has had prophets. They taught 
us to use the bow and arrow ; and how to raise corn, 
potatoes, and tobacco. We bless the Great Spirit for 
those prophets." 

" God is no respecter of persons. He has sent 
other nations prophets, and Jesus Christ is one of the 
wisest and best he ever gave the world. He taught 
that God is a spirit, and that we should worship him 
in spirit and in truth ; that we are all his children ; 
that he loves all, is good to all, and ever will be the 
Father and friend of man. Do you. object to that?" 

" All good, but the missionaries no talk so. They 
say Jesus is God, and that he was killed to save man 



178 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

from his own wrath. I no understand such stuff, and 
I no want to. I no believe God is mad, or that he 
was killed to be made good-natured." 

" We perfectly agree on that subject. If you will 
examine the New Testament, you will find that it 
teaches that Jesus Christ was a prophet of the Great 
Spirit, and that he was sent to this world to tell us 
how to live. He came not to quench the wrath of 
God, or to put out the fires of hell, but to direct our 
wayward feet in the path of life and salvation. His 
is a glorious work, and we are assured he will do it 
well. Your nation has likely had prophets, but ac- 
quaint yourself with this one ere you reject him." 

"You tell me new things. I will read the New 
Testament," 

The country south of Fort "Wayne is flat, wet, and 
in those days w r as covered with a dense forest, and 
the settlers' cabins were far apart — in some places, 
miles apart. I remember, when on this journey, of 
traveling a whole day without passing more than 
half a dozen houses. It was a dark, gloomy, foggy, 
rainy autumnal day, and the roads were in a wretched 
condition, in many places nearly impassable, the mud 
and water being so deep. When it was nearly dark, 
I met an ugly looking fellow, with a gun on his shoul- 
der ; and while inquiring of him about the road, I 
heard a distant noise, which seemed to be from some 
one in distress. I called his attention to it, and pro- 
posed that we ascertain what was the matter. He 
seemed to take no interest in the subject, and walked 
off in the opposite direction. I told him he was an 
inhuman creature, and that I should try to learn who 
was making that noise, for some body was surely in 
trouble ; and immediately left the road, and plunged 
into the thick woods, in the direction whence the 
mournful sound proceeded. About a quarter of a 
mile from the road, I came to a small opening in the 
forest, where was a cabin, and in front of the cabin 



IN" THE WEST. 179 

was a fire, and at the side of the fire was a young 
woman ironing clothes, and singing a mournful air as 
loud as she could scream. This was the noise I took 
to be cries of distress. I learned from her, that the 
fellow I had just seen was her husband, and that they 
had been married about two weeks, after three weeks 
acquaintance. I told her about meeting him in the 
road, and that I believed he was not there for a good 
purpose, and, moreover, that I was fearful she had 
married a scamp. Learning from her that it was ten 
miles to the nearest house, I bid her good-by, for I 
did not care about stopping long in that locality. 
"While leading my horse back to the road, for the 
underbrush was so thick I could not ride, I heard 
several times a slight noise in the woods near me, but 
paid no particular attention to it. After much diffi- 
culty, and many scratches, I regained the road. But 
had proceeded but a short distance when I became 
satisfied that the man I had just seen was following 
me, for I could distinctly hear footsteps in the woods 
a few rods at the left. The night being very dark I 
could not see him, could hardly see my horse ; and 
the mud being deep, and the horse tired, I could 
travel only at a slow gait. I stopped my horse, and 
peered into the dark, but nothing could be seen. The 
rascal came to a halt when I stopped. I dismounted 
on the right side of the horse, having him between 
me and the villain. Stood there, perhaps, fifteen 
minutes, without either party making the least noise, 
expected every moment to hear the crack of his gun. 
He finally made tracks from me as fast as he could 
run, and I remounted my horse and proceeded on my 
journey. He doubtless intended to rob me, steal my 
horse, and perhaps do worse ; but presuming I was 
armed — but I was not — and seeing I was pretty 
resolute, he did not dare attack me without being 
sure of decided advantage. Being on that road again 
soon after, I learned that he had fled to parts un- 



180 TWENTY-FIVE TEARS 

known, leaving his wife, to escape being arrested for 
some crime. 

The next day I reached Anderson, and delivered 
five discourses 'before I left. At the close of one of 
the sermons, a Methodist minister replied. He dwelt 
long on the words of the apostle Paul, a As it is 
appointed unto men once to die and after that the 
judgment." Heb. ix. 28. I answered : 

if the gentleman is correct in his understanding of 
this passage, it demolishes one tenet of Orthodoxy. 
The passage asserts, that "it is appointed unto men 
once to die." Now, the creeds tell us, that temporal 
death is not of divine appointment, but rather contrary 
to the divine will. Man, say the creeds, was created 
immortal, and it was the will of God that he should not 
die; it was the divine appointment, that he should live 
forever. But in an evil hour, Adam, the first man, 
sinned, and brought temporal death on himself and 
on all his posterity, contrary to the divine appoint- 
ment. If partialism is right here, this passage does 
not refer to temporal death ; and if it does refer to 
temporal death, it is wrong in denying that temporal 
death is of divine appointment. 

To what " men " does the text refer ? for it does 
not say all men are appointed to die. Read the sec- 
ond verse following : " For the law having a shadow 
of good things to come, and not the very image of the 
things, can never with those sacrifices which they 
offered year by year continually make the comers 
thereunto perfect." The pronoun "they" in this 
verse, as any one can see, refers to the " men " spok- 
en of in the text. The apostle says, "they," that 
is, the "men," "offered sacrifices." Now, all men do 
not offer sacrifices, neither are they required to. But 
under the Jewish law, a certain class of men were 
appointed to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. 
They were the jw*ie$ts, and it is to them, and to them 
only, the text refers. According to the grammatical 



IN THE WEST. 181 

structure of the text and context, the " men " were 
a class whose business it was to offer sacrifices. It is 
certain, then, that the apostle does not speak of all 
men, but of a certain class of his countrymen. And 
this is confirmed by the fact, that in the Greek, the 
article tois is before the word men, and that article 
means the or these. Ketaining the article, the passage 
reads, " And as it is appointed unto these men once to 
die." What men ? Why, the men appointed by the 
Jewish law to offer sacrifices. 

But did these men " die " in their sacrifices ? Yes, 
in the sense here intended. For the meaning of the 
apostle we must heed the connection in which the 
passage occurs. In the 16th and 17th verses, speak- 
ing of the first testament of the Jewish covenant, the 
apostle says, " For where a testament is, there must of 
necessity be the death of the testator, for a testament 
is of force when men are dead / otherwise it is of no 
strength at all while the testator liveth." It is so 
now — no will, or testament, is in force till the testa- 
tor is dead. Well, Moses was the testator of the 
Jewish covenant, and we know that was in full force 
before Moses died temporally. What kind of a death, 
then, does the apostle mean? Read on: "For when 
Moses had spoken every precept to all the people" — 
that is, given them the whole covenant — "according 
to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with 
water and scarlet wool, and myrrh, and sprinkled 
both the book" — that contained the covenant — "and 
all the people saying, This is the blood of the testament 
which God hath enjoined unto you." This sacrifice 
which Moses then offered in the presence of the peo- 
ple, is what the apostle calls the death of the testator. 
He did not, of course, die temporally, but he shed 
blood, offered sacrifice, and thereby sealed the cove- 
nant, and that he terms the death of the testator. 
Well, we know that the Jewish priests were set apart, 
"appointed" to "die" for the people in the same 



182 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

sense Moses died to seal the covenant. The language 
with reference to Moses dying in his sacrifice, explains 
what is meant by the words, " it is appointed unto 
men once to die" — they died as Moses died. 

There is reference here to the Annual Atonement 
of the Jews. On that great occasion, the priest, who 
was the most conspicuous personage, appeared before 
the assembled congregation — that appearing was 
typical of Christ's first coming. The priest then 
offered sacrifice for the sins of the Jewish nation — 
that was typical of the death of Christ for the world. 
The priest then disappeared, *and entered into the 
"Holiest of all" — that was typical of Christ entering 
into paradise. In due time the priest reappeared to 
the people — that was typical of Christ's resurrection 
■ — his "second appearing." The priest at his second 
appearing before the people, passed judgment on 
them, which was, that their sins were forgiven — and 
that was typical of the judgment passed on all who 
trust in the risen Savior. They behold him the sec- 
ond time, the risen, the glorified Savior, without sin 
unto salvation. His first appearing, was when he 
came in the flesh; his second appearing, when he 
showed himself to the world in his spiritual and glo- 
rified condition, and all who confide in the risen Ke- 
deemer, as the way, the truth, and the life, are blessed 
with life and salvation. To them he "appears the 
second time without sin unto salvation." 

I also delivered several discourses in Franklin. A 
Millerite, at the close of one of them, attempted to 
show that the New Testament teaches, that this earth 
will be destroyed. His chief reliance was on Matt, 
xiii. "That passage," said he, "speaks of the end 
of the world, the harvest, and the furnace of fire. It 
is not figurative language. This world is to be burned 
up, and then the wicked will be cast into a lake of fire. 
I do not know when all this will take place. It may 
occur to-day, to-morrow, this year, next year; I know 



IN THE WEST. 183 

not the hour, day or year, but I do know that dreadful 
day of destruction will surely come, sooner, or later." 

I replied: The passage in Matt. xiii. affords the 
gentleman's destructive theory no aid whatever. 
Learned men of all denominations tell us, that the 
" end of the world," in that passage, is the end of the 
Jewish world, or age ; that Christ had no reference to 
the destruction of this material earth. Bishop Pearce 
renders the original, " End of the age, viz : that of 
the Jewish dispensation." Dr. Hammond translates 
it thus : " Conclusion of the age." Dr. Cappe says, 
the words mean, " The accomplishment of the age, 
which in scripture language, uniformly relates to the 
Mosaic economy." This interpretation is fully sus- 
tained by the New Testament. Speaking of Jesus, 
the apostle Paul says : " For then must he often have 
suffered since the foundation of the world : but now 
once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put 
away sin by the sacrifice of himself." Heb. ix. 26. 
At the end of what world was Christ sacrificed ? Not 
the end of this earth surely, for it has survived his 
death most two thousand years. According to the 
gentleman's logic, this earth was all burned up eight- 
een hundred years ago, and it is all delusion that it 
now exists, turns on its axis, and revolves around 
yonder sun. In another place the apostle represents 
the end of the world as having taken place in his day: 
" And they are written for our admonition, upon 
whom the ends of the world are come." 1 Cor. x. 11. 
If the apostle Paul was right, my friend here is miser- 
ably deluded. The Mosaic world, or era, did end in 
the apostolic age, and it is to that the New Testament 
always refers when it speaks of the end of the world. 

"The harvest," says Jesus, "is the end of the 
world." In the Bible, the end of an era, a city, or 
nation, is called its harvest. Of the destruction of 
the city of Babylon, it is said, " For thus saith the 
Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, The daughter of 



184 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

Babylon is like a threshing floor, it is time to thresh 
her ; yet a little while, and the time of her harvest 
shall come.... And Babylon shall become heaps, a 
dwelling place for dragons ; an astonishment, and a 
hissing, without an inhabitant." Jer. li. 33, 37. The 
end of that city is called its harvest ; so the end of 
the Jewish dispensation is called its harvest. 

The ending of the Jewish age and nation, was to 
involve the ruin of multitudes of that people. Jesus 
often warned them of that coming calamity ; told 
them, that unless they reformed they would all perish 
in the approaching storm. That national desolation 
is called u wrath to come," "damnation," "everlast- 
ing punishment," " furnace of fire." " Whose fire is 
in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem." Isa. xxxi. 9. 
" Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become 
dross : all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, 
in the midst of the furnace ; they are even the dross 
of silver. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Be- 
cause ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will 
gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. As they 
gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, 
into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, 
to melt it ; so will I gather you in mine anger and in 
my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. 
Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the 
fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst 
thereof. As silver is melted in the midst of the fur- 
nace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and 
ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my 
fury upon you." Ezek. xxii. 18-22. These passages 
illustrate the meaning of " furnace of fire ;" they tell 
us where it is — in Jerusalem, not in eternity, as the 
gentleman imagines. In the text the wicked Jews 
are called " tares ;" in the above quotations they are 
termed " dross," " dross of silver," " lead," " iron," 
" tin." At the end of the Jewish state, the righteous, 
— the gold and wheat of the nation, — were saved, 



xN THE WEST. 185 

but the " tares," the " dross " were destroyed by fam- 
ine, pestilence, and the sword. This passage, then, 
certainly has no reference to the destruction of this 
earth, nor to any calamity to man beyond the grave. 
Although I find no evidence in the New Testament 
of the destruction of this earth, I conclude from analo- 
gy, that it is destined to be destroyed. "Everything 
that lives on the earth has its birth, maturity, and 
death. This is true of every plant, animal and man. 
And is it not so of the earth? The matter that 
composes it may be eternal, but there was doubtless 
a time in the distant past when this globe had no 
existence. It is supposed that the sun once occupied 
all the space in which the solar planets are now re- 
volving, and that those planets, with their satellites, 
were then parts of the sun ; but by the operation of 
the laws of the Creator, governing that immense 
mass of matter, portions of it became detached from 
time to time, and commenced their revolution on their 
axis, and around the mother globe. Those detached 
portions are now the planets which belong to the solar 
system. If this hypothesis be correct, the earth had a 
beginning. It has passed through wonderful changes 
since the day of its birth ; — it has condensed, cooled, 
and become fit for the growth of vegetation, and for 
the habitation of animals and man. And will it not 
in time lose its vitality like a decrepit old man, and 
finally die, and return to the sun whence it came? 
Is not this to be the fate of all the planets ? And 
will not the sun himself lose his life, luster and 
glory, and fall into the vortex whence he came ? And 
will not this decomposed matter again be vitalized, 
and form other globes? And is not birth, growth, 
death, and decomposition going on, not only among 
plants, animals, and men, but in all departments of 
the material universe? And has not this process 
been everlastingly going on ? and will it not continue 
to go on forever and ever ? 



186 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

Lectured in Columbus several times ; and in going 
there got rather a cold bath. Came to a stream, and 
being informed by a man living on its bank, that the 
water was shallow, plunged into it without any hes- 
itation, but soon found that it was past fording and 
very rapid. When I reached the opposite shore 
was wet ttirough, and the weather being very cold, 
my clothes were soon frozen from head to foot. Kode 
several miles in that condition, and when I reached 
Columbus, which was in the night, was about as cold 
as a living man can be. A preacher replied to me in 
a very bitter spirit, and I took occasion to exhibit 
some of the contradictions of his brethren, thus: 

It is believed, that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the 
world, but that nine tenths of the world will be for- 
ever lost. It is believed, that Jesus tasted death for 
every man, but that millions will receive no benefit 
from it. It is believed, that Jesus will reign till he 
has subdued all things to God, but that a majority 
of mankind will be eternally unsubdued. It is be- 
lieved, that all war is unchristian, but that God will 
keep up a war in hell forever. It is believed, that 
capital punishment is wrong, but that God will inflict 
capital punishment on all who leave this world unre- 
generated. It is believed that we ought to overcome 
evil with good, but that God will overcome it by 
inflicting an infinite evil. It is believed, that it is the 
duty of man to labor in season and out of season to 
regenerate his fellow man, but that God will defeat 
his labors by placing multitudes where salvation nev- 
er can be attained. It is believed, that all mankind 
are brethren, but that a devil will sever that brother- 
hood, and drag most of our race into the infernal 
regions. It is believed, that we should love our fel- 
low men, but that God hates nearly all of them with 
infinite hatred. It is believed, that we should imitate 
God, but if we did so, provided the creeds are true, 
we should be incarnate fiends. It is believed, that 



IN THE WEST. 187 

there is only one God, but that there are three Gods. 
It is believed, that man is by nature religious, but that 
he is by nature totally depraved. These, and many 
others, are the contradictions of what is called Ortho- 
doxy. Can that religion be of heaven which so 
abounds with absurdities and contradictions ? 

I subsequently had a discussion in this place with 
J. Wright, a Campbellite minister. Salvation, said I, 
in one of my speeches, is the theme of the Bible — of 
Moses, the prophet, Jesus and the apostles. But what 
is salvation from % Mr. Wright says, it is from a future 
endless hell, from the wrath of God, and the power 
of satan. He described in burning words the horrors 
of that infernal pit he wants to save us from. He 
described it beautifully, and I noticed that some of 
his brethren seemed to be delighted with the charm- 
ing picture he presented. They, doubtless, are sure 
of a comfortable seat in the heavenly mansion, having 
had their sins washed away in yonder stream, and 
expect to have the supreme satisfaction of seeing us, 
sinners, writhing in the flames of hell, the victims of 
devils, and the cursed of God. They laugh now in 
anticipation of this great joy to come. I envy them 
not their spirit nor their hopes. But what is salvation 
really from? According to the Bible, it is deliver- 
ance from sin, error, condemnation, moral death. 
" For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath 
appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungod- 
liness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, right- 
eously, and godly, in this present world ; looking for 
that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the 
great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ ; who gave 
himself for us, that he might redeem us from all 
iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, 
zealous of good works. These things speak, and 
exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man 
despise' thee." Titus ii. 11-15. This is a clear state- 
ment of salvation. It is deliverance from " all iniqui- 



188 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

ty" — soul-purification — and is effected by the grace 
or truth of God, teaching us to "deny ungodliness 
and worldly lusts, and live soberly, righteously and 
godly " amid the evils of this world. " These things 
speak and exhort," adds the apostle. Let this be 
remembered by those who assert that a 'present salva- 
tion is nothing, is not worth striving for, if there are 
not eternal fires beyond the grave to escape. " Let 
no man despise you." Remember this, ye who 
despise the message of him, who urges a present sal- 
vation, but knows nothing of salvation from the wrath 
of God, nor the torments of perdition. 

The first time salvation is referred to in the Bible, 
it relates to deliverance from iniquity. " I will put 
enmity between thee and the woman, and between 
thy seed and her seed ; it shall bruise thy head, and 
thou shalt bruise his heel." Gen. iii. 15. Here we 
have the cheering assurance, that sin, symbolized by 
the serpent, shall be crushed, ruined, destroyed, and 
Adam's race, consequently, delivered from its blast- 
ing, deadly embrace — but not a word about salvation 
from the future hell Mr. W. talks so eloquently about. 
In Mai. iii. 2, 3, the mission of Jesus is clearly stated : 
"But who may abide the day of his coming? and 
who shall stand when he appeareth ? for he is like a 
refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap : and he shall sit 
as a refiner and purifier of silver : and he shall purify 
the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, 
that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in 
righteousness." Jesus is the refiner; truth is the 
fire ; man, created in the image of God, is the gold ; 
the dross is man's falsities. As the refiner with his 
fire separates the gold from the dross, saves the one 
a'nd destroys the other, so Jesus, by the word of truth, 
the gospel of our salvation, purifies our souls, separ- 
ates the earthy from the heavenly, saves the one and 
destroys the other. Not a word here about deliver- 
ance from the flames of hell, or the wrath of God. 



IN THE WEST. 189 

The earthly father of this soul-refiner was instructed 
to call his name Jesus, because he would " save his 
people from their sins ;" and during his ministry on 
earth, Jesus labored to that end. " Reform !" Cried 
he, "for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," — not 
the kingdom of hell, mark you. We should reform, 
live pure and right, from heavenly considerations — 
not from motives of an infernal nature. Nineteen 
twentieths of the sermons of this age would not be 
uttered if all the preachers understood that text. 

At last, the great Reformer died, and the apostle 
tells us why he died. "He died for all, that they 
which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, 
but him who died for them and rose again." 2 Cor. v. 
15. Jesus lived, labored, died, and rose again, that 
we might " live unto him." But we are told by the 
popular creed, that it was the end and aim of Jesus, 
whether living or dying, to placate the wrath of God, 
and save us from a burning hell. After the Master's 
death, the apostles continued his work, and it is well 
known that they labored faithfully for the present sal- 
vation of their fellow men. The chief of them said, 
"Jesus, whom we preach, warning every man, and 
teaching every man, in all wisdom that we may pre- 
sent every man perfect in Christ Jesus." Col. i. 28. 
He preached to make men perfect in gospel virtues — 
not to redeem them from a fabled world of woe. The 
apostle's words to his pupil, Timothy, are very com- 
prehensive : " All scripture is given by inspiration of 
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for 
correction, for instruction in righteousness : that the 
man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished 
unto all good works." 2 Tim. ii. 16, IT. The object 
of all heavenly influences is summed up in these brief 
words. To perfect our character, and cause us to 
abound in good works, is the ultimate of revelation. 
And how much more rational is this than the pop- 
ular notion, that it is a device to satisfy justice, 



190 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

appease heaven's wrath, and rescue us from hell's 
flames. 

The discussion was to have, continued four days, but 
Mr. Wright's friends closed it on the evening of the 
second day. He remarked to an acquaintance of mine 
soon after this, that he had rather debate with a ten- 
acre field full of sectarians, than with one Universalist. 

From Columbus I journeyed to Nashville, and 
delivered three discourses. " It is too good to be 
true," said a preacher, at the close of one of the ser- 
mons. I remarked, That is the strongest objection I 
know of to this soul-cheering faith. That ourselves, 
relatives, friends, all mankind, are the children of 
God ; that he loves us with a love many floods cannot 
quench; that we have all commenced a life that is 
never to end, and are destined to grow wiser, and 
better, and happier, forever and ever; that we shall 
again meet the loved and lost of earth, and with hand 
in hand, and soul linked to soul, forever tread the 
courts of the New Jerusalem — that all this is our 
glorious future, I admit is hard to believe. That we 
are born to so rich and glorious an inheritance is hard 
to believe. There are many other blessings our heav- 
enly Father has provided for us, we might think the 
same of under certain circumstances. Had it been 
our sad lot to have been confined to this date in a 
dungeon, never to have known father, mother, broth- 
er, sister, never to have seen the face of a friend, or 
to have heard the voice of love, never to have seen 
the green earth, the bright sun, or blue sky, and told 
to-day for the first time, that the beautiful earth and 
star-spangled sky exist as we now behold them, full 
of beauty for the eye, music for the ear, and love for 
the heart, and that in a short time we should exchange 
our dark, damp, cold cell for this glorious world, 
where we should meet father, mother, brother and 
sister, would we not be apt to exclaim, "It is too 
good to be true I" 



m THE WEST. 191 

A man who has been an Atheist all his life, never 
heard of a God, or of a future life, when told for 
the first time that there is a God who governs the 
world, and guides the destinies of men, and that he 
is immortal and will live forever, I say when these 
facts are first revealed to him, he would likely say, 
" It is too good to be true." A family that has ever 
been doomed to want, sickness, disappointment, and 
sorrow in every form, when informed that a kind 
friend has deeded them a comfortable home, and pro- 
vided for their future support and happiness, and that 
within a few days they will come in possession of all 
these blessings, when informed of this they would 
probably unbelievingly exclaim, " It is too good to be 
true." 

I am not at all surprised to hear people, who all 
their life-time have lived in the shade and gloom and 
sorrow of a dark, repulsive, and cruel theology, say, 
" Universalism is too good to be true. 5 There is 
such a vast difference between that partial, gloomy 
creed, and "the grace of God which bringeth salva- 
tion to all men," I do not wonder they think the lat- 
ter too good to be true. It is certainly true, that we 
do not merit, by any act of ours, such blessings, and 
are lost in wonder when we reflect on the immense 
provisions our heavenly Father has provided for us, 
and nothing short of the best of evidence makes us 
rest in our glorious hope. But our hope is based on 
a sure foundation — on the character, purpose, and 
promises of God. On this divine trinity we found 
our faith, and rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full 
of glory. 

But the doctrine of endless misery is too bad to be 
true. The theory, that consigns countless millions of 
mankind to the wrath of G$d, and the flames of hell, 
is altogether too bad to be true. Before I can sub- 
scribe to such a monstrous creed, I must believe God 
to be the worst being in the universe — has no love, 



192 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

mercy, justice, goodness, but is the very essence of 
cruelty and malignity ; I must believe all this ere I 
can, for a moment, harbor the thought that he can be 
the author of ceaseless suffering. But while I have 
reason to rejoice in his goodness, I will cling to the 
faith the gentleman thinks is " too good to be true." 



nr the west. 193 

CHAPTER XII. 



Discussion in Franklin — Justice of God — What the Gospel Is ? — 
Society Organized — Discourse on Total Depravity — Conversa- 
tion with a Presbyterian Minister on Christian Rewards — Talk 
with a Catholic — A Methodist — A Presbyterian — A Campbell- 
ite — Salvation — A Mormon Sermon — Reply to It — A Journey to 
Louisville and Cincinnati, 

While I resided in Terre Haute, I had a debate in 
Franklin, Ind., with A. L. Edmonds, on the final 
destiny of man. The discussion continued four days. 
Mr. Edmonds dwelt long and emphatically on the 
Justice of God — claimed that it required the endless 
wretchedness of offenders. I replied as follows, and 
he dropped that subject : 

It is said that Justice requires the endless suffering 
of some men. That, although the goodness, mercy, 
and benevolence of the Deity may be in favor of the 
ultimate happiness of all men, yet his justice requires 
that the wicked, who die in their sins, should be 
doomed to suffer unending torment. The system of 
faith into which is incorporated, as one of its parts, 
the doctrine of endless punishment, suspends the 
final state of men upon the condition they are in 
when they leave this world. The question is not 
how they have lived, but how they have died. This 
is the point — the pivot — upon which is made to turn 
the immortal destinies of men. No matter how 
sinful a man may live all his life — "though as wicked 
as Cain, and corrupt as Mary Magdalene with her 
seven devils," if he only repent, believe in the Lord 
Jesus — join the church — or, in fine, " get religion " 
just before he dies, all will be well with him — his 
reward will be heaven. While on the other hand, no 
matter how moral, upright and godly a man may live, 



194 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

though he may have known and obeyed the Scriptures 
from his youth up to a good old age, discharged all 
his duties as a humble and faithful Christian, and 
been the means of blessing hundreds of his fellow 
beings, both temporally and spiritually ; yet, " if he 
fall from grace," and become a sinner, even but one 
day before" his death, and die in that state, he, poor 
old man, must go to hell ! 

This is a briefly drawn picture of the system advo- 
cated by that class of men which seem to be such 
sticklers for justice. If any should say such a system 
is opposed to reason, the Bible, and every principle 
of justice and rectitude, all I have to say is, I can't 
help it. But it is nevertheless a true and faithful 
representation, so far as it goes, of the orthodox plan 
of salvation and damnation — "nothing extenuated, 
nor aught set down in malice." Nor all its advocates 
can do, will ever be sufficient, to make the system 
appear anything different from this representation. 
Indeed,, I do not think they will try to do it, — they 
believe and understand it, as I have described it. Let 
it stand so then, as good and wholesome Orthodoxy, 
while I instance a few cases for illustration, that we 
may be the better enabled to see some of the mon- 
strosities and legitimate conclusions which must for- 
ever follow from the above admitted premises. 

1. Charles and Henry were brothers — twin broth- 
ers ; they lived together until they had attained their 
twentieth year, when Charles died ; and as he had 
made no profession of religion, he was sentenced to 
endless pains. Had Henry died at the same time, he 
would have shared a similar doom, for he was as des- 
titute of religion as his brother; luckily for him, how- 
ever, he lived until his seventieth year, during the 
whole of which time he was in an unconverted state, 
except the last six months ; for the last six months he 
had lived a pious life, and consequently was admitted, 
after his death, to heaven. 



IN THE WEST. 195 

"The punishment of sin," saith my friend, "does 
not take place here, but is deferred until the sinner 
reaches the spiritual world." Consequently, Henry 
received no punishment in this world, for his long 
career of sinfulness ; and it will not be pretended that 
he received it after he arrived in heaven — he was 
therefore not punished at all. But how fares it with 
his brother Charles % He, poor fellow, must welter 
in quenchless flames, for the crimes of his brief exist- 
ence. Has God rendered to these twins according to 
justice ? 

2. Two young men attempt the murder of a man 
for money, and while engaged in the foul deed, one 
of them is killed accidentally, by his comrade, from 
the discharge of a pistol, and, of course, goes imme- 
diately to hell — to an endless hell f The other suc- 
ceeds in assassinating his victim — takes his money, 
which is sufficient to purchase a vessel ; one is pro- 
cured, and after obtaining a crew to his mind, he 
launches forth upon the " great deep," an abandoned 
pirate. Hark ! do you hear those cries which float 
upon the night air of the South Sea? They come 
from a ship in distress. Hark again ! those were the 
cries of women ; the young mother, and the " gay 
guiltless " maiden are there. The youth and the man 
of gray hairs — but the sounds of lamentation have 
ceased — all is over with them. The pirate ship has 
been there, and the unfortunate have all been doom- 
ed ; for alas, they had no religion. Forty years pass, 
and the pirate is arraigned before a tribunal of justice 
— is condemned — and confesses that, besides the 
innumerable abominations he has committed in his 
long life of wickedness, he has been accessory to the 
murder of four hundred persons ! What must be 
done with him ? hell is too good for him ! Yes, hell 
is too good for him, and, of course, he must go to 
heaven. A few days are given him — he repents — 
and swings from the gallows off to glory. There, 



196 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

from his exalted station of bliss, he looks down into 
the abodes of the damned, and sees scores of immor- 
tal, wretched beings, sent there by his own hands. 
Among his unfortunate victims, he sees the innocent 
girl of sixteen, and the gray-headed father — and 
there, too, is his first companion of crime, who fell 
ere he completed his first deed of wickedness. Is 
this justice? the justice of an infinitely just God? 
Oh mockery ! 

3. Two men — A and B — avowed enemies, meet in 
the street. Each is armed with a rifle, and each 
makes ready to dispatch his enemy. A presents his 
gun — it snaps; the cap was out of order. In an 
instant B takes a deadly aim, his rifle discharges, and 
A is a dead man. B is arrested, condemned and 
dies ; but, as in all such cases, he repented in time to 
secure heaven, as a reward ! Now if A's gun had 
not missed fire, he would have killed B, and, of 
course, sent him to hell, while he might have repent- 
ed and gone to heaven. But he, poor fellow, must 
go to hell, merely for the want of a good cap ! 

The most abandoned wretch that ever disgraced 
humanity, can, according to this bankrupt system, 
obtain an easy passport to heaven, by a few minutes 
repentance just before he dies, while the moral, good, 
virtuous, humane, yea, the faithful Christian — the 
laborer in the cause of his Master — though he hath 
worn-out a long life in warning his fellows, and 
inducing them to reform ; though he has, according 
to Orthodoxy, been the means of converting hundreds 
to the belief and practice of the Christian religion, 
yet, if in an evil hour, he be drawn from the path of 
rectitude — become a sinner, and die suddenly, with- 
out time to repent, he goes to an endless hell ! Oh, 
what justice ! what consistency ! Orthodoxy, thou 
art not a jewel ! 

Orthodoxy may sing her siren song the world over, 
it will not alter facts ; men are punished here for their 



IN THE WEST. 197 

sins; and the worst of it all is, that these poor 
wretches, who have been deceived by the song, and 
thereby led into sin, still receive their punishment 
before they die, and often without knowing that it is 
the reward of their own doings ! They will charge 
their suffering to a cruel fate, hard fortune, or some 
other cause, not knowing that the hand of a just God 
is upon them ! But whether men believe it or not, if 
they do wrong, they must and will receive their 
reward; and if their experience fails to undeceive 
them, it may serve to convince those who live after 
them, that there "is a God who judgeth in the 
earth, 5 ' and that " he cannot do iniquity." 

I closed my last speech on the last proposition as 
follows : I am now nearly through with my part in 
this debate. I have presented the gospel to you the 
past four days as I truly believe it. The word gospel 
signifies good news / and it is good news from God to 
man, from heaven to earth. It tells us, 

1. That God is the Father of mankind. " Have we 
not all one Father ?" Addressing Pagans in Athens, 
the Gentile apostle said, "We are the offspring of 
God." Jesus instructs us to pray, "Our Father, 
who art in heaven." And he also teaches that our 
heavenly Father's love for us far exceeds the earthly 
parent's love for his offspring. And the God who 
inspired him and his apostles to utter such noble sen- 
timents, hath said, " The mother may forget her child 
but I will not forget you." Is not this good news to 
the sons and daughters of earth ? We are passing 
away from our earthly friends, and they are daily 
leaving us ; and is it not a blessed assurance that we 
have an ever living and ever present Friend, who 
will never leave nor forsake us? Is not this hope 
good to live by — good to die by ? 

2. This same gospel also proclaims the good news 
of eternal life and a blissful immortality for mankind. 
We are the children of God, created in his image, 



198 TWENTY-IIVE YEAES 

partake of his immortal nature ; and, commencing our 
existence in the bud of being, in the cradle of all life, 
are destined to manifest more and more the divinity 
of our nature, as the eternal ages bear us onward and 
upward. 

3. And from these cardinal truths, the New Testa- 
ment draws the logical inference, that we should love 
the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and 
strength, and our fellow men as ourself. God is the 
Father of all, and his love extends to all, and hence 
we should be loving and dutiful children. We all 
belong to one family, are members of one household, 
and hence we should be kind, forbearing, and forgiv- 
ing to each other. This is the gospel in letter and 
spirit, in theory and practice ; and nothing but this is 
the gospel. It is all embraced in the word love — a 
little word, but the length, breadth, and depth of the 
universe are required to express its meaning. God is 
love, his purpose is love, and love will bless his chil- 
dren while immortality endures. 

But there is not a drop of love, nor a note of glad 
■tidings in my opponent's creed. It proclaims it to be 
the purpose of the Almighty to consign millions of 
mankind to regions of eternal sorrow, darkness and 
death ; and those who may escape that dreadful doom, 
unless they have hearts of demons, will forever 
deplore the sad fate of their earthly associates — those 
they were required to love as themselves. The words 
love, goodness, mercy, justice, gospel, good news, glad 
tidings, should be all stricken from the Bible, if Mr. 
Edmonds' creed is true, and words that savor of fire 
and brimstone, should take their places. Yea, the 
sun, moon and stars, the refreshing shower, the genial 
breeze, and productive earth, should all tell us of fire 
and fury, instead of love, goodness and justice, if 
eternal woe is to be the doom of half of mankind. 
If this terrible dogma is true, it seems to me, that on 
the blazing disc of the sun should be written in char- 



IN THE WEST. 199 

acters as black as midnight — endless woe/ on the 
pale face of the moon, and on every twinkling star — 
endless woe, that all might read their doom from night 
to morn, from morn to night ; and that every breeze 
that blows, should scream in our ears so loud that the 
dead might hear — endless woe. But thank heaven, 
God is love, the gospel is good news, and these malig- 
nant creeds are false. 

A large number of clergymen of different orders 
attended the discussion, and they held evening meet- 
ings during the progress of the debate, but all parties 
were silent on the subjects that were discussed during 
the day. The disputants were kind and courteous 
towards each other, and their christian spirit pervaded 
the hearers of all creeds. A society was organized in 
Franklin the day after the debate closed, it being 
Sunday, and I preached in the place monthly for one 
year. But the distance was too far for me to continue 
the visits, and as no one could be obtained to take my 
place, meetings were suspended. The good cause has 
suffered all over the West for want of competent min- 
isters to supply the wants of the people. If a dozen 
faithful pastors had been located in Indiana in those 
days, liberal societies would now have been well 
organized and permanently established all over the 
state. In Franklin, Columbus, Martinsville, Gosport, 
Bloomington, Greencastle, Ladoga, Crawfordville, 
Perry sville, Covington, Lafayette, Fort Wayne, Rich- 
mond, Madison, and in many other places where we 
have no organizations, nourishing and influential soci- 
eties would now be established. But ministers could 
not be obtained, and hence much of the labor of the 
missionary was of but little avail. Having a paper 
on my hands, I was obliged to travel far and near to 
sustain it, and could not devote much time at any 
one place. 

A few days after this discussion, I delivered several 
sermons in Edinburg ; and one of them was preached 



200 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

in the Methodist meeting-house, and the subject, at 
the request of the pastor, was "Total Depravity." 
The following is the gist of the discourse : 

I will first show by the advocates of total depravity, 
what they mean by it. The " Presbyterian Confes- 
sion of Faith " thus defines it : " The sinfulness of 
estate whereinto man fell, consisteth in the guilt of 
Adam's first sin, the want of that righteousness 
wherein he was created, and the corruption of his 
nature, whereby he is utterly indisposed, disabled, 
and made opposite to all that is spiritually good, and 
wholly inclined to all evil, and that continually." 

The " Shorter Catechism " says : " The sinfulness 
of that estate whereinto man fell, consists in the guilt 
of Adairis first sin, the want of original righteous- 
ness, and the corruption of his whole nature." 

The "Baptist Philadelphia Confession" tells us 
that " Our first parents, by this sin, fell from their 
original righteousness and communion with God, and 
we in them, whereby death came upon all, all becom- 
ing dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the faculties 
and parts of soul and body." 

The " Methodist Discipline " says : " Original sin 
standeth not in the following of Adam, (as the Pela- 
gians do vainly talk) but it is the corruption of the 
nature of every man, that is naturally engendered of 
the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very far gone 
from original righteousness, and of his own nature 
inclined to evil, and that continually." 

John Calvin, in his explanation of this doctrine, 
says : " Original sin seems to be the inheritable per- 
verseness and corruption of our nature, poured abroad 
in all jparts of the soul, which first makes us deserv- 
ing of God's wrath, and then also bringeth forth 
those works in us, called in Scripture, the works of 
the flesh. These two things are distinctly to be 
noted, that is, that, being thus in all parts of our 
nature perverted and corrupted, we are now, even for 



IN THE WEST. 201 

such corruption, only holden worthy of damnation," 
etc. 

W. "W. Perkins : " In reprobate infants, the exe- 
cution of God's decree is this : as soon as they are 
born, for the guilt of original and actual sin, being 
left in God's secret judgment unto themselves, they 
dying are rejected of God forever." 

Twiss : " Every man that is damned, is damned 
for original as well as actual sins, and many thousand 
infants, only for original" 

Arthur Hildersham : " There is in them (infants) 
a natural proneness, disposition and inclination to 
every thing that is evil ; as there is in the youngest 
lion, or of a bear, or of a wolf, unto cruelty, or in the 
egg of a cockatrice, before it is hatched. You have 
heard it evidently proved, 1. That all infants are sin- 
ners and deserve damnation. 2. That many infants 
have been vessels of wrath and fire-brands of hell." 

Here we have a full, clear, perfect definition of total 
depravity, as held by Presbyterians, Baptists and 
Methodists. It is here taught that all mankind are 
by nature, " utterly indisposed, disabled, and made 
opposite to all that is good, and wholly inclined to all 
evil." Every human being, according to this theory, 
that God ever made, is " wholly inclined to all evil " — 
to lying, cheating, stealing, murdering, etc., etc., etc. 
All men, then, by nature are liars, thieves, and mur- 
derers. This is the character of every infant when it 
is born into this world. Mark the words, " There is 
in infants a natural proneness, disposition and inclina- 
tion to every thing that is evil; as there is in the 
youngest lion, or of the bear, or of the wolf, unto 
cruelty, or in the egg of the cockatrice before it be 
hatched," and hence "the writer acids, "1. All infants 
are sinners, and deserve damnation. 2. That many 
infants have been vessels of wrath and fire-brands of 
hell." 

If these are correct views of human nature, for six 



202 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

thousand years God has been creating totally deprav- 
ed beings — thieves, liars, assassins, murderers. God 
is the source whence all crime flows, for he creates all 
mankind villains ; gives them all an "inclination to 
all evil." And this is not the worst of it — all de- 
serve everlasting damnation, because God created 
them inclined to villainy of every name and grade. 
The definition of depravity given above, means all 
this, says all this, and to be a true Presbyterian, Bap- 
tist, or Methodist, one must believe all this. But we 
ask, who really believes a word of it ? Who believes 
that God is the monster these creeds represent? 
Who believes that he has cursed us all with an infer- 
nal nature, and will then damn millions forever and 
ever, for being cursed with such a nature ? Where is 
the mother who really believes that her infant is total- 
ly depraved, wholly " inclined to all evil," " a fire- 
brand of hell," and " deserves damnation ?" People 
may subscribe to such horrid notions, preach them, 
and try to defend them, but who really, heart and 
soul, believes them ? 

If mankind believed that their fellow men were total- 
ly depraved, it would destroy all confidence between 
man and man. Who would trust a fellow that he 
believed was by nature " wholly inclined to all evil ?" 
Who would employ such a physician, lawyer or clerk? 
Who would trust such a banker, or commission mer- 
chant ? Who would ride on a railroad, or sail in a 
vessel, that he believed was run by such wretches ? 
If men really believed in total depravity, they would 
tremble with fear by day and by night. They would 
shun each other as they shim a deadly serpent. And 
if that dogma is true, there would be no virtue, truth, 
purity in the world, but crime of every name and 
grade would reign supreme. God would not be 
known, and a devil would be universally worshiped. 

And then what wonderful transformations, accord- 
ing to the creeds, have sin and grace wrought in 



IN THE WEST. 203 

liuman nature. God created man perfect in holiness 
and righteousness. Human nature was then all 
divine ; not a spot nor a blemish in it. Every facul- 
ty of the mind was in perfect harmony with every 
other faculty. Angelic harmony reigned in the soul. 
But the devil in the shape of an ugly serpent, in one 
moment, ruined the best, the most perfect of God's 
works, and for the creation of which he had exercised 
his greatest skill. And how easy it was effected. 
One temptation was presented and the work was 
done. Why, even some of those who are said to be 
totally depraved, and fire-brands of hell, often resist 
temptation. But mother Eve, holy and divine as she 
was, succumbed at the first attack, and soon caused 
her heroic husband to do likewise. This one sin 
transformed Adam and Eve into devils, and caused 
all their progeny down through a thousand genera- 
tions to be born devils, "vessels of wrath," "fire- 
brands of hell," and "wholly inclined to all evil." 
Their nature became entirely changed — changed 
from angelic purity to total depravity. According to 
this theory, sin is far more potent than grace. One 
sin committed by one person, ruined countless mil- 
lions — unborn countless millions of mankind; but 
the grace of God in one soul sanctifies only that one 
sonl, and perhaps not that one permanently ; he may 
fall from grace. One sin ruined the world, but all 
the power, wisdom, and grace of heaven will fail to 
redeem it. 

And then by doing so and so, it is said another 
change is wrought in our nature — we are restored to 
the divine likeness, to the purity and holiness Adam 
enjoyed before his fall. This theory of the change of 
man's nature from purity to depravity, and from de- 
pravity to purity, is all a fiction. If the nature of 
man can change from the divine to the infernal, why 
not change from a man to a horse f The truth is, the 
nature of nothing changes from God down to the 



204 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

worm. Every mineral, plant and animal has received 
a definite nature, and never changes one iota. So 
with men, their nature is unchangeable — soul and 
body then are the same yesterday, to-day and forever. 
The body may be diseased to-day, but by proper 
means it may be restored to health, but its nature is 
not changed. So the mind, the soul, may be disor- 
dered, and by moral means may be restored to a 
healthy condition, but its nature is not changed. I 
am aware that several passages of Scripture are ad- 
duced to sustain this terrible "theology of innate total 
depravity, and I will briefly show that they refer to 
nothing of the kind. 

1. a Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin 
did my mother conceive me." Psalm, li. 5. There is 
nothing here about total depravity, or about our na- 
ture being " wholly inclined to all evil." All inherit 
tendencies to evil and to good, for mankind are imper- 
fect. We inherit these tendencies, not from Adain, 
but from our immediate parents. Such biases are 
constitutional, not down deep in man's nature. Be- 
sides, we are not to understand these words strictly 
literal. David uttered them in a season of great 
debasement. They are hyperbolical like the follow- 
ing : " 1 am poured out like water ; and all my bones 
are out of joint ; my heart is like wax ; it is melted 
in the midst of my bowels." " And my bones are 
consumed." " All my bones shall say, Lord, who is 
like unto thee." "lama worm and not man." All 
this is to be understood figuratively. 

2. " "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean 
thing ? Not one." Job xiv. 4. Of course, the moral 
character of many is unclean, but what does that 
prove about their nature f It does not intimate that 
any one is born unclean. 

3. " And God saw that the wickedness of man was 
great in the earth, and that every imagination of the 
thought of his heart was only evil continually." Gen. 



IN THE WEST. 205 

vi. 5. This simply means that the antediluvians 
were a very wicked people ; not that they were born 
totally depraved, for in the 12th verse it is said, that 
" all flesh had corrupted his way" which it could not 
have done if the Creator had made " all flesh " totally 
corrupt at its birth. They were corrupt by practice, 
not by nature. 

4. " The heart of man is deceitful above all things 
and desperately wicked; who can know it?" Jer. 
xvii. 9. The prophet is speaking of the sin of Ju- 
dah." In the first verse he says, " The sin of Judah 
is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a 
diamond ; it is graven upon the table of their hearts, 
and upon the horns of your altars." It was not the 
sin of Adam entailed upon them, it was their own 
sin, the sin of Judah. They had corrupted their 
hearts, had departed from virtue's ways, and had 
become " desperately wicked." We see nothing here 
about being created totally depraved. 

5. " They are all gone out of the way, they^ are 
together become unprofitable; there are none that 
doeth good, no, not one." Kom. ii. 12. This passage 
clearly proves that men, in the days of St. Paul, had 
corrupted themselves, not that they were born totally 
corrupt. They had " gone out of the way," not bom 
" out of the way." They had " become unprofitable," 
not born " unprofitable." " Their throat is an open 
sepulcher, their mouth is full of cursing and bitter- 
ness, their feet is swift to shed blood." verses 12, 14, 
15. Is this true of infants? We know it is not. 
He is not speaking then of man's condition by nature 
but by practice. In the preceding chapter the apostle 
says, " For when the Gentiles, which have not the 
law, do by nature the things contained in the law, 
these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves, 
which shows the works of the law written in their 
hearts" Wicked as men were in those days, "de- 
ceitful " as were their hearts, and " desperately wick- 



206 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

ed," the law of God was written in their hearts, and 
they often did by nature, proving that their nature 
was not totally depraved, " the things contained in 
the law." 

These are the principle passages that the advocates 
of total depravity cite to sustain their theory ; but it is 
evident they fall far short of proving any thing of the 
kind. They prove, what all know to be true, that 
mankind have voluntarily corrupted themselves — 
some more and some less. None are perfect, none 
are totally depraved, and there are all grades and 
degrees, from the best man to the worst man. And 
as we corrupt ourselves, we can reform ourselves. 
Corruption and purity, right and wrong, evil and 
good, life and death, salvation and damnation, heaven 
and hell, are set before us, and we have the ability to 
turn from the wrong and lay hold on the good. But 
the terrible theory, that we inherit by nature, corrup- 
tion, evil, death, damnation, and hell, from Adam, 
that •they permeate our very nature, corrupt the very 
springs of our life, constituting us "fire-brands of 
hell," and that nothing but a miracle by Almighty 
God can purify us, and save us from endless burnings, 
I reject as utterly false and monstrous. 

"There's the marble, there's the chisel; 
Take them, work them to thy will; 
Thou alone must shape thy future, — 
Heaven give thee strength and skill." 

While in Edinburg, I had some conversation with a 
Presbyterian minister on religious subjects. "Why," 
said he, " you contend that Christians are rewarded 
in this world for their piety and virtue. I dissent 
from you. The Bible teaches me, that Christians are 
crushed to earth by the cross they bear. Sinners 
have no such burden to carry." 

I remarked : " It is true that the early Christians, 
by their enthusiasm in the Christian cause, often 



IN THE WEST. 207 

incurred the wrath of Jews and Pagans, and were 
sometimes roughly handled. But this was not done 
because they were good men and women, but because 
they were deemed enemies of truth and righteousness 
— fanatics of a dangerous creed and party. The world 
did not know that it was opposing God's noblemen, 
and the highest religious and moral truths, hence 
Christ, when in the agonies of death from the hands 
of the unbelieving multitude, cried, 'Father, forgive 
them, for they know not what they do.' The trials, 
hardships and persecutions they suffered, were inci- 
dental to the times, and are not the legitimate results 
of a holy life. 

" And here you mistake, my friend. You suppose 
that the suffering they endured are the natural 
sequence of a divine life. In that you greatly err. 
The advocates of any unpopular cause, let it be good 
or bad, right or wrong, are sure to encounter opposi- 
tion. Especially was this so in the early days of the 
Christian era. The nations of the earth, in those 
times, were ignorant, intolerant, cruel, and bloody — 
much more so than at the present time. The early 
Christians laid hold of the religious creeds of their 
day with a strong hand, tore them to atoms, and scat- 
tered them to the four winds. This was more than 
the adherents of those creeds could bear, and accord- 
ing to the intolerant and cruel spirit of the times, 
they pursued the enemies of their ancient faith with 
fire and sword. The Christian cause was unpopular ; 
the Christians were an insignificant minority, and the 
dominant party could not brook their zeal for what 
they regarded to be a wretched delusion. 

" Christianity is now popular among the civilized 
nations of the earth, and its advocates are very differ- 
ently situated from what they were eighteen hundred 
years ago. There is now no cross for them to bear, 
as that term was understood in the apostolic times. 
Those who come nearest to bearing it in this country, 



208 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

are those who c trust in the living God as the savior 
of all men.' They are often contemptuously, cruelly 
treated by the dominant parties ; but thank God, if 
they are inclined to revive the old persecutions, they 
have not the power to do so. But the truly good in 
all ages and climes, are blessed, let their outward 
circumstances be what they may. Yirtue is a divine 
fount, whence flows the elixir of life ; a tree whose 
fruit heals the nations. The good man's soul is in 
harmony with truth and righteousness ; he lives an 
harmonious, heavenly life." 

" But I cannot see that there is as much difference 
in the happiness of saints and sinners, as there is in 
their character. The latter seem to enjoy themselves 
quite as well as the former, and sometimes even bet- 
ter." 

" If the Bible is any authority, you are much mis- 
taken. The wicked, in that book, are said to be ' ser- 
vants,' ' captives,' ' strangers,' 'foreigners,' 'wander- 
ing prodigals ;' Christians are said to be ' children,' 
' freemen,' * fellow-citizens of the household of God,' 
' obedient children at home.' The wicked are repre- 
sented as 'bearing a heavy burden,' 'weary,' 'con- 
demned,' ' dead,' ' blind,' ' hungry,' ' poor,' ' thirsty,' 
'miserable;' but Christians as 'entering into rest,' 
being 'justified,' 'alive,' seeing 'the Son of right- 
eousness,' 'eating the bread of God,' drinking 'the 
water of life,' possessing 'all things,' and rejoicing 
'in the hope of the glory of God.' The difference 
between the two classes is clearly expressed thus: 
'There is no peace to the wicked' — ' Great peace 
have they that love thy law.' 

" Truly hath the poet said : 

"'Heaven is not a region in the air, 
Nor hell a gulf we know not where ; 
But heaven is where love and wisdom dwell, 
Their absence 'tis that makes a hell. 
Love absent — hatred enters in, 



IN THE WEST. 209 

Guilt and revenge, and every sin ; 
Its smoke of torment still "ascends — 
The deathless worm that never ends, — 
Till 'death itself shall die."' 

" The outer life of the good and bad, may be much 
alike, but their inner life is vastly different. Into 
one the sunshine of heaven is poured, and perpetual 
summer reigns; into the other, darkness has free 
access, and winter storms ever howl." 

Returning to Terre Haute on horseback, had some 
interesting talk with my fellow travelers. The first 
was a Catholic. 

" What shall I do to be saved ?" I inquired. 

"Believe in the Holy Catholic Church, and obey it 
in all things." 

U But cannot one be saved without being a Catho- 
lic? If one believes in God, Christ, and obeys the 
divine law, cannot he be saved if he is not a Catho- 
lic?" 

" It is possible he may be ; but it is not safe to rest 
one's eternal all on such ground. The church is the 
door into heaven, and I have no evidence a soul can 
be saved without passing through that door. You 
Protestants have great expectations of reaching heav- 
en, but I am fearful most of you will land where 
" the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." 

The landlord of the house where I dined, was a 
zealous Methodist. " What shall I do to be saved ?" 
I asked. 

" Believe in the Lord Jesus." 

" What must one believe concerning him ?" 

" That he is the second person in the adorable trin- 
ity, and willing and able to save all who come to 
him." 

" Cannot one be saved without believing that Jesus 
is the second person in the trinity?" 

" No. If you do not believe that, you are an infi- 
del, and no infidel can be saved." 



210 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

" Do you think Catholics can be saved ?" 

"My bar-room will hold all the Catholics who will 
be saved/ And as for their popes, bishops and priests 
— I would not give a fig for their chance. Infidelity 
is bad enough, but popery is worse."\ 

In the afternoon, I fell in company with a Presby- 
terian, and asked him, "What I should do to be 
saved ?" 

" Believe in Christ." 

" What must I believe concerning Christ ?" 

" That he will save all he died for." 

" How many did he die for ?" 

" ' Are there fev) that be saved V ' Strive to enter 
in at the strait gate, for narrow is the gate and strait 
is the way that leadeth to life and few there be that 
find it.' These scriptures teach that only a small part 
of mankind are embraced in the covenant of grace." 

Soon after parting with this man, I fell in company 
with a Campbellite, and I asked, "What must one 
do to be saved ?" 

" Believe, be baptized, and repent." 

" Do you mean that no one can be saved hereafter, 
without faith, baptism, and repentance in this world ?" 

" I have no evidence that any can." 

Alas! I mentally exclaimed, how selfish, contracted 
and partial are the creeds of men. The Catholic con- 
signs all to hell outside of his church ; the Metho- 
dist sends all to perdition who do not believe that 
Jesus is the eternal God ; the Presbyterian condemns 
all to everlasting burnings, but the elect few; the 
Campbellite has no hope for any beyond the grave, 
who do not adhere to his creed, and take water. The 
truth concerning salvation, is all embraced in a few 
words. Jesus said, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart, soul, and strength, and thy 
neighbor as thyself." And one of his apostles testi- 
fies that " Love is the fulfilling of the law." Who- 
ever lives in harmony with this law is saved, let his 



IN THE WEST. 211 

faith be what it may, and let him belong to what 
party he may, or to no party. This is my faith with 
reference to salvation, and does it not infinitely better 
correspond with reason, and the character of God, 
than the narrow contracted systems just stated by 
their advocates ? 

Where I stopped over night, I heard a Mormon 
deliver a discourse in defence of Mormonism. He 
was an able man, well educated ; and he proved as 
clear as mud that the Latter-Day Saints are heaven's 
peculiar favorites. Every good Mormon, when he 
dies, we were told, is transported to one of the stars, 
and becomes its king, and will their reign over its 
inhabitants in regal splendor forever and ever. But 
anti-Mormons are consigned to the infernal regions of 
Pluto, to be his subjects eternally. He also told us, 
that Christ would come to this earth personally within 
a few years. " I expect," said he, u to live to wit- 
ness his second advent. He will be a Mormon, and 
will empower us to destroy the Gentiles ; and when 
the work shall be well done, the Saints will possess 
the land. I warn you to flee from the wrath to come; 
accept of mercy while mercy is offered you ; for when 
Jesus comes, he will -shut the door, and your doom 
will be sealed." , He pretended to be able to work 
miracles, and an old gentleman in the congregation 
arose and wished him to restore his sight. " Do you 
believe I can ?" asked the speaker. " I will believe 
you can when you do the work," the old gentleman 
replied. " But do you believe now that I can ?" " No, 
sir." " Then I will not restore your sight." 

As soon as he was through the crowd cried, " Man- 
ford ! Manford ! Manford !" I begg'ed to be excused, 
but the people insisted that I should pitch into Mor- 
monism, and I finally spent an hour in reviewing it, 
and the discourse just delivered. I commenced by 
remarking, that I wished to make one statement, and 
to ask the speaker one question. Jesus told his disci- 



212 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

pies on one occasion, that some of them would live to 
see him come the second time, (Matt. xvi. 28) and he 
intimated to Peter that John would be living when 
he would come. (John xxi. 23). "Now you," ad- 
dressing the preacher, " told us, that coming has not 
taken place, but will take place in a short time. The 
question I wish to ask is this :" 

" Is John now living ? " 

" He is," replied the Mormon. 

" Where is he ?" I inquired. 

"Up North, somewhere. "We know he is living, 
for we have a document signed by him." 

" Will you please show me that document." 

" It is not in my possession ; our prophet has it. 

I then gave the history of the rise and progress of 
Mormonism ; exposed its knavery, imposture, polyga- 
my. The Mormons present became very angry, and 
one coarse-looking fellow shook his fist in my face. 
That was the first and last time I ever came in con- 
tact with Mormons. I was probably too severe in 
my remarks; but I was so disgusted at the man's 
defense of Mormonism, I gave free utterance to my 
indignation. 

Self and Mrs. Manford journeyed to Cincinnati. 
We traveled in a buggy, and had a delightful jaunt, 
as the weather was pleasant, the roads good, and 
friends plentiful — all except the last, in striking con- 
trast with the other journey we took — the bridal 
tour. We were absent three weeks, and I preached 
nearly every day. Attended the annual meeting of 
the Indiana State Convention, where we met many 
friends from different portions of the state. Then 
proceeded to Louisville, Ky., and attended the annual 
convocation of the Kentucky State Convention. 
From thence journeyed to Cincinnati, where I bought 
rinting materials for the Teacher* and then returned 
ome. 



IN THE WEST. 213 

CHAPTER XIII. 



Moved to Indianapolis — Extensive Traveling — Henry Ward Beech- 
er — A Fossiled Calvinist — Supposed to be an Orthodox Preach- 
er — Debate in New Philadelphia — Strife Between the North 
and South — The Old Convention Dead — The New Convention 
Organized — Discussion in Springfield, III. — Abraham Lincoln — 
God is Love — Is Merciful — Is Just — Is Holy — Travel in Illinois 
— Conversation with a Presbyterian Clergyman on the Origin 
of Hell — In Iowa City, and Other Places in Iowa — Home Again 
— W. J. Chaplin — Discussion with Benjamin Franklin — Debate 
in Covington — Discussion with Mr. Russell — Publish the " One 
Hundred and Fifty Reasons " — Review of " Universalism Against 
Itself " — Publish Another Book — Olive Branch Discontinued — 
Traveling Far and Near. 

In 1846, I moved to Indianapolis, the capital of 
Indiana. It being in the center of the state, and the 
most important town therein, I deemed it a better 
locality in which to publish the Teacher than Terre 
Haute. It continued to be issued twice a month, Dr. 
J. H. Jordan assisting ; and Mrs. Manford writing 
editorial, helping mail the paper, and keeping the 
books. I was often absent, but the faithful doctor 
and the "better half" always sent the Teacher out 
regularly on its mission. Its circulation rapidly in- 
creased after this change of base ; and being in the 
geographical center of the state, I could reach all 
parts of it with less travel than before. I still con- 
tinued to make the saddle my home a considerable 
portion of the time. Yisited and preached annually, 
more or less, in nearly every county in the state, and 
Indiana covers a large territory, being two hundred 
and fifty miles north and south, and one hundred and 
fifty east and west. I also extended my peregrina- 
tions into Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa and Michi- 
gan. Friends of liberal principles were every where 



214 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

multiplying, more and more interest was taken in the 
good cause, and my congregations were generally 
increasing. I was much encouraged, although my 
labor at home and abroad was much augmented. I 
often wished I could divide myself into a dozen parts, 
that I might be in as many places at once. 

There were but few of the liberal faith in Indian- 
apolis. About the time I moved there, B. F. Foster 
commenced preaching in the city, in the old Court 
House — a dirty and out of the way place. But few 
attended his meetings, and after one year's effort to 
establish a congregation, he returned to Madison, 
where he had previously resided. C. Cravens subse- 
quently made a feeble effort in the same direction, 
and failed. After I left, Mr. Foster returned, and 
resumed his labors, and has been successful in estab- 
lishing a good society. 

Henry Ward Beecher was pastor ot one of the 
Presbyterian societies part of the time I resided there, 
and I found him to be a liberal and jovial fellow. 
Orthodoxy evidently did not trouble him then any 
more than it does now, and his hearers sometimes 
doubted his soundness on the "fine points." He 
would occasionally preach politics ; and his sharp 
thrusts would send his democratic church members 
headlong out of the house. I once asked him if he 
believed the Creator would eternally punish us for the 
sins of this life, and he evaded giving a direct answer. 

There was another Presbyterian preacher in India- 
napolis by the name of Gurley — a fossiled Calvinisr. 
He and Beecher subscribed to the same creed, but in 
faith and spirit they were as far apart as the poles. 
I attended his meeting once, and he thought he would 
give me a hard hit. " I will relate," said he, " how 
a noted Universalist died. Ethan Allen, a revolution- 
ary soldier, was on his death bed. When well, he 
was loud in defense of Universalism. But when he 
came to die it failed him. His daughter asked him 



IN THE WEST. 215 

just before he breathed his last, if she should cherish 
the faith he had taught, or that her mother had taught 
her. Believe as your mother believes, said the dying 
man." I met him the next day, and told him that 
Ethan Allen was an avowed Deist. "It is the same 
thing," said he. " If you think so, you need not be 
alarmed about your salvation, for all now admit that 
children and idiots are safe." This is the same Gur- 
ley who has figured in "Washington as chaplain of 
Congress. 

Soon after moving to Indianapolis, I had a discus- 
sion in New Philadelphia, in the southern portion of 
Indiana. In going there, I stopped over night in a 
little village; told the landlord of the inn that I 
would speak to the people if he would give notice. 
As my host was a Methodist, the people inferred the 
preacher was one of his brethren. "The Lord is 
good unto all, and his tender mercies are over all his 
works," was my text, and I dwelt on the evidences of 
God's goodness in nature, providence, and the Bible. 
I emphasized the conclusion, that as God is unchange- 
able he always will, in this world and the world to 
come, through all time and through all eternity, be 
good unto all, and his tender mercies be ever over all 
his works. As God is good to all, he blesses all now, 
and as he always will be good to all, he ever will bless 
all mankind. I did not say that all would be saved, 
only that God would ever bless mankind. I request- 
ed a man, who I was told was a Methodist, to close 
the meeting. Before praying he remarked, "My 
brethren, we have heard the gospel to-night in all its 
fullness. Glory to God for such truths. They are 
the bread of life. May we all feast on them and live 
forever." Another said, " I bless God for what we 
have heard this evening. I have been so near heav- 
en, I have felt like taking the shoes from my feet. 
Bless God for the word of life." I spent the night 
with a Methodist brother, and he doubtless thought I 



216 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

was a Methodist. I practiced no deception — told the 
truth clearly, boldly. No one questioned me concern- 
ing my denominational relations, and I said nothing 
on that subject. The nature of the soul is in har- 
mony with truth and righteousness, and when the 
wisdom of heaven is unfolded, it is intuitively respond- 
ed to by men of all creeds, provided their prejudices 
are not aroused by offensive names, or by unpopular 
truths stated in too pointed terms. If I had told the 

Eeople I was a Universalist, the whole discourse would 
ave been pronounced heresy. 

At another time, I was traveling on Sunday ; com- 
ing to a meeting-house where a congregation was 
assembling, I dismounted, and took a seat with the 
congregation. I knew no one, and I suppose no one 
knew me. The expected preacher did not appear, and 
some one arose to dismiss the assembly. I told the 
people I was a minister and would deliver a discourse 
if they wished me to. All seemed gratified to hear a 
stranger, and I talked nearly two hours to about five 
hundred people. I pursued the same course I did on 
the other occasion — said nothing about other people's 
faith, called what I preached the gospel. I counted 
some twenty Universalists in the congregation; at 
least, I judged they were such from expressions of 
their countenances when I came out were pretty clear 
on Universalist ground. I spent the rest of the day 
with a Presbyterian deacon, and he evidently did not 
suspect I was a heretic. 

The discussion in New Philadelphia continued two 
days. My opponent was a Presbyterian minister. 
"We had some skirmishing before the regular battle 
commenced. I delivered a discourse on Saturday 
evening, and he replied. He spoke on Sunday morn- 
ing, and I replied in the afternoon. Monday and 
Tuesday we met face to face, and discussed six hours 
each day, when he retreating left me in possession of 
the field. The discussion caused much excitement. 



IN THE WEST. 217 

for the liberal faith was unknown to most of the peo- 
ple — they had no idea that any tiling could be said 
in its favor. One man offered to bet his farm that I 
would not be able to make a second speech. A good 
society could have been established there, but no min- 
ister could be obtained. 

The strife between the Northern and Southern peo- 
ple, which ultimated in the late rebellion, disturbed 
the Universalist denomination in Indiana long before 
the war commenced. The contention though was not 
about slavery, but grew out of the antagonism be- 
tween people from those two sections of country. 
Southern and Central Indiana was settled chiefly by 
emigrants from the South, and unfortunately they 
cherished prejudices against the Yankees. The Indi- 
ana State Convention would not join the United 
States Convention, because it was controlled by 
Northern people. Jonathan Kidwell, who had long 
been preaching in the West, resided in Indiana, was 
from Kentucky. In his younger days he was a 
Methodist minister ; then a New Light ; and finally 
became a Universalist. He possessed much intellect- 
ual power, and was well read on many subjects, 
although not versed in the technicalities of knowl- 
edge. He had long resided in Indiana, and was well 
known. Some forty years ago, he had a discussion 
in Indianapolis with a Methodist minister. It was 
published by Mr. K., and widely circulated. He had 
been editor of the Star in the West, and while I resid- 
ed in Indiana, he published a monthly magazine, 
called the Philometh Encyclopedias. He was, as 
remarked, from Kentucky, pro-slavery, and had but 
little love for Yankees. 

Soon after I settled in Lafayette, he commenced a 
war on Eastern preachers, calling them "silk-stocking 
gentry," sent out West to enlighten the heathen. He 
complimented me by calling me a "Texan ranger," 
" a conspirator," and a " little bishop." Many ot the 



218 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

Universalists in the state were anxious to be connect- 
ed with the United States Convention, but Mr. Kid- 
well and his friends always opposed such union. 
This difference disturbed the harmony of some of our 
associational and conventional meetings, and did 
much mischief in the state generally. I was young, 
and doubtless indiscreet in some statements I pub- 
lished in the Teacher, but Mr. K. was very coarse and 
abusive in his attacks. The State Convention met in 
Terre Haute while I resided there, and one of Mr. 
Kidwell's friends reported that he had fifty charges 
against me, which he intended to lay before the coun- 
cil. When motion was made to adjourn, I stated 
what I had heard, and demanded a presentation of 
the charges threatened. This brought G. C. McCune 
to his feet, and some one proposed the matter be left 
to six persons, each party choosing three, and their 
decision with regard to the charges be final. Both 
parties consented. T selected my men, but the other 
party did nothing. The year after, the Convention 
met in Dublin ; one of Mr. K.'s friends proposed that 
I be disfellowshiped on the ground that I pretended 
to have received a Letter of Fellowship in the East 
when I had not, and was therefore an impostor. The 
resolution was laid on the table. I then came out 
with a long article in the Teacher about my troubles 
in Indiana, and Mr. Kidwell made that article the 
basis of charges which he presented to the Conven- 
tion the next year. It met that year in Laconia, in 
the extreme southern portion of the state, and the 
council was composed chiefly of delegates from some 
dead societies in that locality. The result was as I 
expected, and rather hoped would be — the council 
voted me guilty of the charges. But that act killed 
the Convention. The White River,- Wabash and Up- 
per Wabash Associations immediately withdrew from 
it, and in a few months a new Convention was organ- 
ized in my parlor in Indianapolis, and it soon joined 



IN THE WEST. 219 

the United States Convention. The old Convention 
met once or twice and then died ; and about the same 
time Mr. Kidwell departed this life, full of years ; and 
soon after, his printing office, which was then run by 
E. M. Knapp, was destroyed by lire. After the new 
order of things was inaugurated, peace and harmony 
reigned in our councils, and the good cause was more 
prosperous. 

Liberal sentiments were making some progress in 
central Illinois, and I was invited to visit that region 
and hold a discussion in Springfield with a Methodist 
preacher. I had never been in that portion of the 
state, and it was a long journey there, for there was 
no railroad connecting those two capitals in those 
days. In going to Springfield, I stopped at Mt. Pu- 
laski, 111., and delivered several discourses. It is on 
a high mound, in the midst of vast prairies — a beau- 
tiful situation. Here I met, for the first time, D. P. 
Bunn, who resided in the place and preached there, 
and in the region all around. He still lives in a 
neighboring town, Decatur, and is yet faithfully dis- 
charging his ministerial duties. He is an excellent 
man, a faithful minister, and dear friend. He has 
labored long and hard in the moral field, and God has 
blessed him and his labors. Mr. Bunn accompanied 
me to Springfield. Arriving there, I found that the 
preacher who had agreed to debate with me, was not 
inclined to keep his promise, and Mr. Lewis, the most 
noted controversalist in that section, was chosen to 
take his place. He was a Methodist minister of much 
ability, and very zealous in his cause. He had 
recently had a discussion with Mr. Bunn, and was 
pretty well posted concerning Universalism. We 
debated four days in the Representatives' Hall of the 
capitol, in the presence of vast assemblies. The dis- 
cussion produced much excitement in Springfield, 
and all parties attended it. I remember seeing Mr. 
Lincoln there punctually every day and every night. 



220 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

He often nodded his head to me when I made a 
strong point. Little did I think, or he think, what 
was to be his future position and history. 

In my first speech, I offered some arguments in 
favor of the restitution of all things. God is love. 
The Bible says, " God is love;" and all God's works 
say, he is love. 

" Could we with ink the ocean fill, 

And were the skies of parchments made, 
Were every blade of grass a quill, 

And every man a scribe by trade ; 
To write the love of God above 

Would drain the ocean dry, 
Nor could the scroll contain the whole 

Though stretch'd from sky to sky." 

As love is the moral nature of God, well might the 
great Gentile apostle exclaim, " I am persuaded that 
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, 
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 
nor height, nor depth, nor any other thing, shall sep- 
arate us from the love of God, which is manifested in 
Christ Jesus our Lord." Bom. viii. 38, 39. Can love 
so broad, so deep, so high, so vast, so enduring, so 
mighty, consign countless millions of its creations to 
interminable agony ? Can an ocean of love be the 
source of an ocean of woe? Can the best tree bear 
the worst fruit ? Can the purest fountain emit the 
most deadly poison ? As God is love, while man 
exists, he must be his friend, his benefactor, his sav- 
ior. All creeds say God is love. The old Pagans 
extolled Jupiter, called him the great, the magnifi- 
cent, the glorious Jupiter, but according to their my- 
thology, he was a beastly monster. So modern the- 
ologies say God is love, but they attribute to him pas- 
sions and deeds the devil might envy. God is love, 
and all his purposes, and all his works perfectly har- 
monize with infinite love. Universal blessedness is 
the sequence of the proposition — God is love. 



IN THE WEST. 221' 

As God is love, he is just — just in all his purposes, 
in all his works. Would it be just to force into 'exist- 
ence man or angel, knowing that existence would 
prove an endless curse ? Force man into this world, 
force him through this world, force him into the 
grave, force him into the spirit-world, force him into 
an endless hell ! That is the programme of heaven, 
concerning millions of mankind, according to popular 
creeds. Man is the victim of all this, if Mr. Lewis is 
right. Is there any justice in this ? The whole 
scheme is black with crime, and reeking with ven- 

feance, as it culminates in the ruin of the universe, 
ustice does no such work. Justice is universal right, 
and it labors to bring about right; and justice will 
not be satisfied till all mankind are right — right in 
character, in condition, in life. Universal salvation is 
the sequence of the proposition — God is just. 

God is merciful. Mercy is only another manifesta- 
tion of love, and leads to the same result. The Bible 
says much about the mercy of God — he is of " great 
mercy," "plenteous in mercy," "rich in mercy." 
His mercy is said to be universal — "his tender mer- 
cies are over all his works." His mercy is everlast- 
ing — "the mercy of the Lord endureth forever." 
The mercy of the Lord then is great, universal and 
everlasting. It is by the mercy of God we are now 
blessed ; as his mercy is universal, there is no place 
in the universe where his mercy will not reach us ; 
and as it is eternal, the time will never come when he 
will not bless us. Universal blessedness then, is the 
sequence of the proposition — God is merciful. 

God is holy. Holiness is a characteristic of love. 
Holiness delights in holiness, in purity, in happiness. 
Good men are holy in a finite degree, and they pray, 
and plan, and labor, to extend holiness. God is holy 
in an infinite degree, and he purposes universal holi- 
ness. Will he then ever place any of us where we 
cannot be holy, but must lie down in depravity, in 



222 TWENTY-FIVE YEAE8 

corruption, in sin, forever and ever? Mr. Lewis 
affirms that he will thus dispose of millions of man- 
kind. But that is impossible, as God is a holy being. 
Here is a man ; and because his children are disobe- 
dient, he digs a dungeon, chains them in its darkness, 
feeds them on bread and water; but this is not 
enough ; he enters that dungeon morning, noon and 
evening, and beats them half to death. He continues 
this barbarous treatment for days, weeks, months, 
years, yea, as long as they live. Would you call that 
the work of holiness ? God, it is said, will deal infi- 
nitely worse than that inhuman wretch. 

"Far in the deep where darkness dwells, 
A land of horror and despair, 
Justice has built a dismal hell, 
And laid her store of vengeance there." 

Into this infernal dungeon, we are told, the Creator 
will thrust countless millions of mankind, swing the 
door upon them, and there they must remain the help- 
less victims of every vile passion, not for a day, but 
to all eternity; all grace, mercy, love, withdrawn 
from them ; deprived of all opportunity, of all power, 
all means to reform their lives, and doomed by the 
holy God to be unholy through the eternal ages. Say 
not this is the work of holiness ; say not the holy God 
will do what would be so unholy, so diabolical. As 
long as God is holy he will seek the holiness of his 
creatures, and as he is infinitely and everlastingly 
holy, in all places and in all times he will seek man's 
holiness and happiness. Universal salvation is the 
sequence of the proposition — God is holy. 

I spoke on Sunday after the discussion closed, in 
the Hall, and the spacious room was crowded to its 
full capacity. Mr. Bunn afterwards labored in Spring- 
field, then L. C. Marvin and J. Marvin, his brother ; 
then A. Bosserman, and at the present time, H. R. 
Nye is the pastor of the society. Our friends have 



IN THE WEST. 223 

a good meeting-house, and liberal principles have a 
strong hold in the capital of Illinois. 

I journeyed to Alton, passing through Carlinville, 
Brighton, over the prairie where Girard and Yirden 
now stand. There was nothing there then but wild 
prairie. From Alton I proceeded to Jerseyville, a 
a small burg then, but now a beautiful town, and de- 
livered my message. Thence to Exeter, Naples, and 
on to Macomb, through Kushville. In all these 
places I spoke to the people. In Macomb we now 
have an excellent society and a line meeting-house. 
Have often lectured there since my first visit. Had 
some talk here with a Presbyterian clergyman by the 
name of Chase, I think. 

" You do not believe in hell ; but that is as clearly 
revealed as heaven." 

" You are mistaken. I do believe in the hell the 
Bible speaks of, and which wicked men experience. 
But I have no faith in the hell of human creeds. 
God never revealed it; it was developed from the 
darkness of Paganism." 

" You cannot prove that." 

" I think I can. Nearly all learned men of all de- 
nominations admit, that the Old Testament does not 
reveal an endless hell. But from Moses to Christ the 
Pagans believed in it As heaven had not revealed 
such a place, the vain imaginations of men were the 
father and mother of it. Hesiod, a Greek poet, who 
lived eight hundred years before Christ tells us, that 
hell is so far from heaven, that it would take a mass 
of iron eighteen days to fall from the latter to the 
former place. The gate of hell was supposed to be 
guarded by a dog having fifty heads, and to make 
escape impossible, the horrid place was surrounded 
by a river of fire, called Phlegethon. Yirgil, another 
Heathen poet says : 

" Here rolls the roaring, flaming tide of hell, 
And thundering rocks the fiery torrent swell." 



224 TWENTY-FIVE TEAES 

" The punishment of hell is thus described by the 
same writer : 

"Here sits in bloody robes the Fury fell, 
By night and day to watch the gates of hell. 
Here you begin terrific groans to hear, 
And sounding lashes rise upon the ear. 
On every side the damned their fetters grate, 
And curse, 'mid clanking chains, their wretched fate." 

" One sinner is bound to a wheel of fire on which 
he must revolve eternally. Another is tortured with 
endless hunger and thirst; he is in a lake of pure 
water up to his chin, with the most delicious fruit a 
few inches from him, but he cannot get a drop of 
water nor a particle of food into his mouth. Danaus' 
forty-nine daughters, for murdering their husbands, 
were doomed to fill a leaky tub with water, drawn 
from a well with a sieve. Another victim of the 
gods^was chained to a rock, and vultures fed on his 
heart and entrails, which grew as fast as devoured. 
Virgil, also thus enlightens us concerning some of the 
inhabitants of hell : 

" At hell's dread mouth a thousand monsters wait ; — 
Grief weeps, and Vengeance bellows in the* gate; 
Base Want, low Fear, and Famine's lawless rage, 
And pale Disease, and slow, repining Age ; 
Fierce, formidable Fiends the portals keep, 
With Fain, Toil, Death, and Death's half-brother, Sleep. 
There Joys, embittered by Remorse, appear, 
Daughter of Guilt; here storms destructive War. 
Mad Discord there her snaky tresses tore ; 
Here stretched on iron beds the Furies roar ; 
And close by Demo's hissing monster stands 
Briareus dreadful with a hundred hands ; 
There stern Geryon raged ; and all around 
Fierce Harpies screamed, and direful Gorgons frowned." 

" This, sir, was the Pagan hell — believed by Pa- 
gans, preached by Pagan priests, hundreds of years 
before Jesus Christ brought a future life to light. 



IN THE WEST. 225 

Did he teach an endless hell ? If so, he taught Pa- 
ganism, not the wisdom of God. Have I not proved 
that the dogma of endless punishment originated in 
Heathen darkness ? You admit that it is not taught 
in the Old Testament ; that the Jews did not believe 
in it in the days of Moses or the prophets. But the 
Pagans did believe in it in those days, therefore it 
was not revealed from heaven, but was the product of 
their own deformed minds." 

" Christians do not believe in the Pagan hell, but 
in the Christian hell; the Pagans corrupted the 
truth." 

" The hell of modern creeds is as horrible as the 
hell of Paganism. I will give you some description 
of hell by Christian authors, and you will admit that 
I am correct. Rev. Isaac Ambrose, an English 
divine, and a man of great talent, contends that the 
Heathen did not represent hell bad enough. Allud- 
ing to the Pagan poets just quoted, he says : 

" ' Let poets feign of Tantalus's tortures, Prome- 
theus's vultures, Ixion's wheels, and Charon's row- 
ing ; these are far short to express the pains of those 
that rage in hell. There plagues have no ease, cries 
have no help, time has no end, place no redemption. 
It is the dark prison where the Tares [the damned] 
are chained, and the wicked bound in fetters of fire 
and darkness. Are there not wonderful engines, 
sharp and sure instruments of revenge? fiery brim- 
stone, pitchy sulpher, red-hot chains, flaming whips, 
scorching darkness? Will you any more? The 
worm is immortal, cold intolerable, stench unendura- 
ble, fire unquenchable, darkness palpable What 

music affords the place but roaring and crying and 
howling ? Cursing is their hymns, wailing their 
tunes, blasphemies their ditties, tears their notes, lam- 
entations their songs, screeching their strains ; these 
are their morning and evening songs. What mean 
these chains and whips, and links and scourges ? iron 



226 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

chains, whips of steel, fiery links, knotty scourges. 
Furies shake their bolts to frighten souls ; the irons 
strike through their ears, and the hooked engines tear 
out their bowels, as if the torment of the damned 
were the delight of devils.' 

" i Oh, what a bed is this for delicate and dainty 
persons ; no feathers, but fire ; no friends, but furies ; 
no ease, but fetters ; no light, but smoke ; no clock 
nor chimes to pass away the night, but timeless eter- 
nity. A fire, intolerable ; a fire, burning, never dy- 
ing ! Oh, immortal pains ! . . . . What torment, what 
calamity can be compared to the shadow of this? 
The wicked shall be crowded together like brick in a 
fiery furnace. There is no servant to fan cold air on 
their tormented parts — not so much as the chink 
where the least puff of wind might enter to cool 
them.' 

" Another Orthodox poet waxes eloquent in describ- 
ing the infernal regions : 

» 

" Pale phantoms, hideous specters, shapes which scare 
The damned themselves, and terrify despair, 
Gorgons and harpies, and chimeras dire, 
And swarms of hissing serpents, hissing fire." 

" Dr. Trapp thus writes of the rivers of hell and 
their fiery tide : 

"Fires spout in cataracts, or in furies flow — 
In bubbling eddies roll the fiery tide, 
And sulphurous surges on each other ride." 

"The Orthodox Pollock gives this idea of hell: 

"Wide was the place, 
And deep as wide, and ruinous as deep. 
Beneath, I saw a lake of burning fire, 
With tempest tost perpetually, and still, 
The waves of fiery darkness 'gainst the rocks 
Of dark damnation broke, and music made 
Of melancholy sort, and over head, 



IN THE WEST. 227 

And all around, wind wared with wind, storm howled 
To storm, and lightning, forked lightning, crossed, 
Of sullen wrath." 

" The Pagan account of hell is tame compared to 
the Orthodox representation of it. A Methodist 
elder, a short time since, in Lafayette, Ind., told his 
hearers, that hell was so hot, that if a soul was taken 
out of it and put into a red hot smelting furnace, he 
would freeze to death in live minutes." 

"I will not talk with you; for you are making 
sport of a very serious subject." 

" I am merely relating the common view of hell, as 
it is preached all over the land." 

"I do not believe in such a hell; neither do I 
preach it. The wicked will be banished from the 
presence of God, there to remain forever." 

" Make hell as mild as you please ; put out all its 
fires, throw away all its brimstone, chains and pitch- 
forks, and say, it is only a condition of sin, darkness, 
mental anguish, and moral death, and it then is awful 
beyond imagination. Fire, red hot wheels, boiling 
lead, as means of torture, give only a faint conception 
of the horrors of such a state, if it is to continue for- 
ever. As John Wesley said, 'What is gained if 
there is no material fire in hell, when all admit, that 
if there is no material fire there, there is something 
worse. " 

From Macomb I proceeded to Burlington, Iowa, 
and thence to Iowa City. Here I lectured several 
times. I. M. Westfall was residing and preaching 
there. It was then a small town, but now it is a large 
and flourishing place. Our society owns a meeting- 
house, and other valuable property. 

Lectured in West Liberty, Tipton, Kochester, Mus- 
catine, Washington, Davenport, and some other places 
in Iowa, and then returned to Indianapolis by the 
most direct route. This was a long and laborious 
journey ; traveled about one thousand miles, and 



228 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

delivered many discourses, one third of which were 
in places where the people were entirely ignorant of 
our faith, and in the rest- they knew but very little 
concerning it. 

A short time before the new Convention was organ- 
ized, I was in North Manchester, in the northern part 
of Indiana, where a youth introduced himself to me, 
as William J. Chaplin, and said he had walked fifteen 
miles to attend my meeting. He also stated that he 
was studying theology, and intended to be a minister. 
I encouraged him in his purpose, and shortly after- 
wards he delivered his first sermon. He has been in 
the ministry ever since, and has labored extensively, 
faithfully, and effectually, in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, 
and Illinois. At the present time he resides at Dow- 
agiac, Mich., and devotes most of his time to the pro- 
fession of his choice. 

About this time I had an oral discussion with Ben- 
jamin Franklin, on three subjects — The General 
Judgment — Universal Salvation — Endless Misery. 
We discussed each proposition six hours. The debate 
was published by both parties, and makes a book of 
three hundred and fifty-nine pages. It has had a 
wide circulation — three edition having been issued. 
Mr. Franklin is, for he is still living, an influential 
minister, editor and author, in his denomination. He 
has resided in Cincinnati many years, and publishes a 
large weekly religious paper in that city. 

I also had a debate in Covingt.on, Ind., with Mr. 
French, a Baptist clergyman, which continued four 
days. He was pastor of the Baptist church in that 
place, and his people had immense faith in his ability 
to demolish the doctrines of the Restitution. But he 
labored under a great disadvantage, as he could not 
extemporize ; and how he wrote his speeches was a 
mystery to me ; he must have worked hard during 
the intermissions. But his labor and wit did not save 
him. His friends were disappointed with his effort, 



IN THE WEST. 229 

and he soon after left Covington. The discussion was 
held in the Baptist meeting-house, and very large 
congregations listened to the arguments, p? % o and con. 

Soon after this, I spent four days in discussion in 
Park county, Ind., with Mr. Kussell, a Campbellite 
minister. The neighborhood was chiefly of the 
preachers faith ; I put up with one of his brethren 
while the debate was progressing. They all treated 
me kindly, and we parted in friendship. Mr. R. now 
resides in Iowa, and is a noted man in his denomina- 
tion. 

In the midst of this arduous labor, I wrote and 
published the " One Hundred and Fifty Reasons for 
Believing in the Salvation of Mankind," about twenty 
thousand copies of which has been distributed, and 
I think it has done a good work. 

Alexander Hall, of Ohio, published a book, denom- 
inated " Universalism Against Itself," which was 
extensively circulated in the "West. He has since 
turned infidel, and says he wrote the book to please 
the Orthodox ; he was probably an infidel when he 
wrote it. But his hypocrisy not then being known, 
and as the book might deceive some of its readers, I 
employed Dr. Jordan to answer it in the Teacher. 
His review occupied a portion of the Teacher for one 
year, and when it was finished, it was published in 
book form, making a volume of nearly four hundred 
pages. An edition of two thousand copies has been 
sold. It is a strong and vigorous work, and com- 
pletely answers most of the objections urged in all 
quarters against the Universalist construction of the 
Bible. 

I also published a little book of two hundred pages, 
called "Truth vs. Error," composed of selections 
from some of our best writers. One thousand copies 
of it were distributed. 

In 1848, I commenced issuing the paper weekly, 
calling it the Western Olive Branch. Soon after, 



230 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

I unwisely moved it to Cincinnati, hoping it would 
have a more general circulation if it was published 
in the " Queen City " of the West. But unfortunate- 
ly, I had a partner, H. Torry, who proved to be a 
dead weight on my hands, and to throw him off I 
had to dispose of the paper, which I did, to J. A. 
Gurley, and he connected it with the Star in the West. 
After this brief partnership of a few months, resulting 
thus disastrously, I returned to Indianapolis, and de- 
voted all my time and attention to preaching. When 
this transfer was made, the circulation of the Olive 
Branch was thirty-three hundred, and it had been 
published nearly nine years. I was sorry to give it 
up, but deemed it best to do so under the circum- 
stances. 

The succeeding eighteen months, I was from home 
most of the time, traveling in Indiana, Illinois, Ken- 
tucky, Michigan and Ohio, preaching wherever I 
could have a hearing. On horseback I went from 
Cincinnati to Lake Erie, and from Lake Erie to Cin- 
cinnati; lectured in Springfield, Dayton, Columbus, 
Upper Sandusky, and in many other places. I also 
journeyed west as far as St. Louis, and northwest to 
Iowa City. 



IN THE WEST. 231 

CHAPTER XIV. 



Concluded to go to St. Louis — Commenced the Golden Era — Asso- 
ciation in Crawfordsville — Debate in Dayton — Man in God's Im- 
age — God the Father op All — Man Immortal — Man a Spirit — 
High Waters — In St. Louis — Why Moved to St. Louis — But pew 
Friends — First Journey in Missouri — Wet, Hungry, Out in the 
Cold — In Troy — In Ashly — Four Brothers — In Louisiana — Oppo- 
sition in London — In Hannibal — Good Friends — Questioned in 
Palmyra about Slavery — Conversation on Judgment — In Memphis 
— Questioned — A Presbyterian Preacher Replied — Was to De- 
bate in Newark — Covered with Ice — Missouri River — Discussion 
in Georgetown — In Southern Missouri — Questioned in Warsaw 
— In Jefferson City—Hard Work in Danville — Returned to St. 
Louis. 

Having disposed of the paper I had published for 
several years, I resolved to move to St. Louis, and 
establish one in that city. Accordingly, in the fall of 
1850, I went to St. Louis and issued the first number 
of a magazine of twenty-four pages, called the Gold- 
en Era. I proposed publishing it monthly, at one 
.dollar per year. Returning to Indianapolis, I re- 
mained there till the succeeding spring, and then left 
that place for the new home on the banks of the 
"Father of Waters." We, that is, Mrs. Manford, 
baby Mae, and self, with horse and carriage, proceeded 
to Crawfordsville, Ind., where we attended the annual 
meeting of the Upper Wabash Association. Dr. 
I. D. Williamson was present, and all were much 
edified with two or three excellent discourses by that 
gifted clergyman. Josiah Davis was then residing 
and preaching in Crawfordsville. For many years 
he was a prominent minister of the United Brethren 
Church ; but his faith had gradually enlarged, and 
for three years previous to this date, he had been an 
ardent defender of the doctrines of the Restitution. 



232 TWENTY-FIVE TEAKS 

Proceeded to Dayton, and there spent four days in 
discussion with Mr. Eussell — the same man I had 
previously debated with in Park county. One of his 
propositions affirmed that the "wicked will be de- 
stroyed," and by that he meant, annihilated, soul and 
body. " Man," he said, " by nature is all mortal ; 
and immortality is only conferred in the resurrection 
on those who are regenerated in this world." I com- 
batted this materialistic position thus : 

As I read the Bible, man is a child of God, created 
in his image, and is therefore a spirit, endowed with 
an immortal nature. The account we have of the cre- 
tion of our race runs thus : " And God said, Let us 
make man in our image, after our likeness. ... So God 
created man in his own image, in the image of God 
created he him." Gen. i. 26, 27. " In the day that 
God created man, in the likeness of God made he 
him." Gen. v. 1. It is also said, " "Whoso sheddeth 
man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed ; for in 
the image of God made he man." Gen. ix. 6. In the 
first book of the Bible, then, it is repeated four times, 
that man was created in the image of God. Some 
tell us, that image was lost in Adam, and that all his 
posterity have been created in the image of the infer- 
nal, but this is not the theology of the New Testa-" 
ment. The apostle Paul says, " Forasmuch as man 
is the image and glory of God." 1 Cor. ii. 7. And 
another apostle testifies to the same, "Therewith 
bless we God, even the Father ; and therewith curse 
we men, which are made in the similitude (or image) 
of God." James iii. 9. We may then safely affirm, 
that mankind from the morning of creation to the 
present time, have been created in the image and 
glory of God. The fish of the sea, the fowls of the 
air, the beasts of the forest, were all created — but 
not in the image of God. Man only is thus distin- 
guished. 

The record cannot mean, that the body is in the 



IN THE WEST. 233 

image of God, for God is a spirit. The body rather 
is in the image of the earthy. " And as we have 
borne the image of the earthy." 1 Cor. xv. 49. But 
the body is not the whole of man. There is a think- 
ing, reasoning, willing, propelling power within this 
physical organism. It is designated by various 
names in the Bible. It is called a " spirit," the " in- 
ward man," "the mind." It is doubtless this inward 
man that is created in the image and glory of God. 

As we have seen, the apostle asserts, that the 
outer man, the body, is in the image of the earthy. 
What does he mean? Doubtless that all the ele- 
ments, laws, forces, of the physical universe are rep- 
resented, imaged in man's physical form ; hence, wise 
men in ancient and modern times have regarded man 
physically as an epitome, microcosm of the outer 
universe. It is then the inward man, the spirit, that 
is in the image and glory of God, and consequently 
all the elements of the Great Spirit are represented, 
imaged in man's spiritual organism, but in a finite 
degree. God is a spirit, an immortal spirit, a being 
of infinite wisdom, love and power. Man's spirit 
being in his image, and partaking of his glory, must 
possess all these qualities, but in a finite degree. He 
is a finite spirit, a spark from the central sun, and 
partakes of the immortality, wisdom, love* and power 
of God. 

The objector has said, " I know man has a body 
for I see it ; but I do not see the spirit you talk about, 
and cannot believe it has an existence." Do you not 
see that this statement lands you in Atheism ? You 
believe there is a physical universe for you can see it, 
or at least, part of it. But you cannot see God, 
therefore, according to your reasoning, there is no 
God. The apostle J?aul did not reason in this unphi- 
losophical manner. He said, "The things that are 
seen are temporal; the things that are unseen are 
eternal." As God is an invisible spirit, and the 



234 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

inward man is in his image, of course it must be 
invisible to mortal eyes. 

The truth is, all the controlling forces of the uni- 
verse are as invisible to our material vision, as are 
God and the spirits which are in his image. The 
laws of gravity, of repulsion, of cohesion, are all 
invisible ; but they are at work in all things, from a 
pebble to the sun. We cannot see them, but we 
experience their effects every moment of our exist- 
ence. We cannot see electricity, but we behold it 
rend the mountain oak, and melt the hardest metal ; 
we cannot see the atmosphere, but we behold it pros- 
trate the forest, and dash to atoms the work of man ; 
we cannot see steam, but we see its effect — it drives 
the heavy train on its iron track, and propels the 
giant ship across the ocean against wind and tide. 
So we cannot see God, only as we behold him in all 
his works. 

" God hath a being, and that we may see 
In the fold of the flower, the leaf of the tree ; 
In the sun of the noon-day, the star of the night, 
In the storm-cloud of darkness, the rainbow of light, 
In the waves of the ocean, the furrow of land, 
In the mountain of granite, the atom of sand ; 
Turn where we may, from the sky to the sod, 
Where can we gaze that we see not a God?" 

We cannot see the spirit that inhabits this mortal 
body, but we can behold its work. It builds up and 
controls the body ; gives strength to the muscles, 
vigor to the hand, brightness to the eye, manliness to 
the form, and genius to the brain. It constructs our 
railroads, steamships, and performs all the works of 
art. It employs human bone and muscle ; but they 
are only its servants ; the indwelling spirit plans all, 
executes all. What the spirit is to the body, God is 
to the universe. I can as easily comprehend the 
Great Spirit as I can my own spirit ; I can as easily 
understand how God can be present in the whole uni- 



m THE WEST. 235 

verse, as I can understand how my spirit can be pres- 
ent in the whole body. Take the spirit from the 
body and the body dies ; take God from the universe 
and the universe would die — become an immense 
corpse. When we know our spirit, we know God ; 
when we know our body, we have a philosophy of 
the universe. Man, then, is godlike in his nature ; 
he is a spirit, has the attributes of a spirit, one of 
which is immortality. If God is immortal, man is, 
as he is in the image of God. I see no way to avoid 
the conclusion, if the premise^ is admitted, and if we 
deny that, we discard the plain teachings of the Bible. 

What has been said concerning man being in his 
nature in the divine image, is confirmed by the scrip- 
tural testimony, that God is the Father of mankind. 
" Have we not all one Father ?" Mai. ii. 10. " For to 
jjs there is but one God the Father.', 1 Cor. viii. 6. 
"One God and Father of all." Eph. iv. 6. Jesus 
instructs us to pray, " Our Father who art in heav- 
en." " O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh." 
Num. xvi. 22. This is repeated (Num. xxvii. 16) 
and the apostle Paul (Heb. xii. 9) quoting it substi- 
tutes " Father of spirits " for " God of spirits." As 
God is the Father of mankind, we are his children — 
his offspring, hence the declaration, " Inasmuch as 
we are the offspring of God." Acts xvii. 29. Chil- 
dren always partake of the nature of their parents. 
As God is'the " Father of spirits," we must partake 
of his spiritual nature — be in his immortal image. 
This body is of mother-earth and partakes of earth's 
perishable nature ; the spirit is of Father-God, and 
partakes of his immortal nature. And when death 
severs the connecting link between body and spirit, 
the earthy returns to the earth whence it came, and 
the spirit to God whence it came. 

If these premises are correct — if the spirit of man 
is in the image of God, if God is the " Father of 
spirits," it follows that man, with other rich endow- 



236 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

merits, is blessed with an immortal nature, and Mr. 
Russell's position, that man is all mortal is incorrect. 
This heaven-endowed spirit is often spoken of in the 
Bible. When man was created, it is said that God 
breathed into his body, and he became a "living 
soul." We are also told that he formeth the spirit of 
man within him ; (Zech xii. 1) that " the body with- 
out the spirit is dead." We read of " the spirits in 
prison ;" Jesus on the cross gave up his spirit to God, 
committed his spirit to God ; when he appeared to 
his disciples they thought they saw a spirit ' } but he 
told them that a spirit hath neither flesh nor bones. 
We are informed that the Sadducees believed in nei- 
ther angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believed in 
both ; and when the latter heard the apostle Paul say, 
that the risen Christ had appeared to him, they said, 
if a spirit had appeared to him, they ought not to 
fight against God. 

From all this testimony, we learn that God is the 
Father of mankind, and that consequently we partake 
of his nature — are created in his image; and as God 
is a spirit, man is a spirit ; as God is immortal, man 
is immortal. Man's moral character may or may not 
be godlike, in the divine image. The Christian only 
is said to be in God's moral image, to be a partaker 
of the divine character ; but it is the nature of man I 
speak of at this time, not his moral character. Chil- 
dren always are of the nature of their parents, but 
their moral character may be very different. So 
mankind, being the children of God, partake of his 
divine nature, but their moral character may be un- 
godly. And it is the purpose of heaven that man's 
nature shall unfold till his moral character shall be in 
harmony with the divine as his nature now is. Cor- 
rupt as may be man's moral character, he still retains 
the image and glory of God his Father is his soul, but' 
in various degrees of distinctness. Some, by the 
great apostle, are compared to the sun, others to the 



IN THE WEST. 237 

inoon, and others still to the stars, (1 Cor. xv.) and 
we are taught by the wise man that this divine glory 
will grow " brighter and brighter to the perfect day." 
From Dayton I proceeded to Joliet, 111., about one 
hundred and forty miles distant. There had recently 
been heavy rains, and the bridges on the Illinois' 
rivers were nearly all swept away or much damaged, 
and I had to swim my horse across the streams, or 
repair the broken bridges to get my precious charge 
over the turbulent waters. We had some dangerous 
passes through the streams, and over the frail bridges 
I had repaired. In pulling the carriage over one 
bridge I came within an hair's breadth of being push- 
ed into the creek, and the buggy falling on me. The 
flood of this year was not quite equal to the flood of 
1844, spoken of in a previous chapter, but it probably 
did more damage, as the country was more improved. 
"When I reached Alton, some of its streets were navi- 
gable for skiffs, and the levee at St. Louis was all sub- 
merged. But after much hard traveling and toiling 
we made Joliet ; and from thence I went to St. Louis 
alone, leaving Mrs. Manford to spend the summer 
with her sisters in Joliet and Lockport. 

St. Louis at that time contained eighty thousand 
inhabitants, and was rapidly increasing in population, 
in business, and in wealth. At the present time it 
contains two hundred and ten thousand inhabitants — 
an immense increase in fifteen years. It is built on 
the west bank of the Mississippi river, eighteen miles 
below the junction of the Missouri river with the 
Father of Waters." The ground on which this 
aoble city stands, is high and rolling, its streets are 
tvell paved, and the buildings generally are of a sub- 
stantial character, being mostly of brick. Its beauti- 
\il cite, its central location, its sixteen hundred miles 
)f river navigation, its railroads extended or being 
extended in all directions, the vast agricultural region 
)f which it is the center, the immense mineral and 



23 S TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

coal fields at its door — these advantages all combined 
must ultimately make St. Louis one of the largest 
cities 'of the world. 

Several spasmodic efforts had been made to estab- 
lish a Universalist society in St. Louis. J. Libbey, 
G-. T. Flanders, E". M. Gaylord had preached there, 
but for two or three years previous to my removal to 
St. Louis all effort in that direction had been aban- 
doned. I lectured in the city occasionally ; a society 
was organized, and the next year G. S. Weaver from 
Ohio became pastor of the society. 

I had moved to St. Louis to publish a paper there, 
and to travel and preach in Missouri and in the neigh- 
boring states. An immense field was before me, a 
vast amount of labor was to be performed, and I went 
to work with a resolute heart. In all Southern Illi- 
nois we had not a minister, a meeting-house, nor a 
society, and, of course, our friends were few and un- 
known. It was the same in Missouri, with two or 
three exceptions. There were a society and preacher 
just emerging from Dunkardism, in the southern part 
of the state. In Troy we had a meeting-house, but 
the society was dead. In the southwest part of the 
state L. C. Marvin had labored some, but then he was 
not residing in Missouri. 

Leaving^Mrs. Manford in charge of the paper, in 
September I commenced a long and laborious journey 
through Missouri, among entire strangers, expecting 
to be absent three montiis. Crossed the Mississippi 
river at Alton, four miles above where the Missouri 
flows into it, to go to Cottleville, thirty miles distant 
where I had my first appointment. The rain pourec 
down in torrents nearly the whole day, and to add t< 
my troubles I got lost in the woods and swamps a! t 
the junction of the two rivers. Regaining the road - 
I traveled till dark, and finding that I could not read 
Cottleville that night, made, application at a doze 
houses for lodging, but all said, a JS T o; we are full. 



IK THE WEST. 239 

The night being intensely dark, the rain falling fast, 
and the roads in a horrible condition and unknown to 
me, I resolved to go no farther. Stopped at a house, 
called the man thereof to the door, and solicited a 
resting place till morning. " We have no room ; 
they will keep you at the next house." 

"What are you in this country? — heathens? At 
ten or fifteen places I have been refused admittance, 
each telling your story, that I could be accommodated 
at the next house. Whether you take me in or not, I 
shall go no farther till morning. I am wet, and cold, 
and tired. It is so dark I cannot see my horse, the 
road is nearly impassable, and I am a stranger in the 
country ; I know no one, and no one knows me. If 
you will not shelter me in your house, I will sit under 
this tree till morning, for I am determined to proceed 
no farther to-night." 

" Oh, well," said he, " come in, come in ; we will 
do the best we can for you." 

Arrived at Cottleville the next morning, and spoke 
to the people in the evening. The next day proceed- 
ed to Troy, and on the succeeding day delivered three 
discourses. Found a respectable number of friends 
there and in the vicinity, and obtained forty subscrib- 
ers for the Golden Era. As elsewhere remarked, 
N. Wadsworth resided and preached in Troy a year 
or two previous to his death, and I found many who 
blessed his memory for the beautiful truths he had 
taught them. Have frequently spoken in this place 
since that first visit, and have some highly esteemed 
friends there. Mrs. Manford often retreated to it from 
the scorching sun of St. Louis. 

Lectured in Prairieville, Louisville, and then 
proceeded to Ashley, where I spoke several times. 
There were four brothers by the name of Hendricks 
residing near this village — all elderly men, of con- 
siderable wealth, and had long been citizens of the 
county. If the world were composed of men of the 



240 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

sterling worth of those brothers, there should be no 
need of " camp or court." It has been my sad duty 
to. perform the funeral service for two of those broth- 
ers, and for the wife of one of the survivors. " Bless- 
ed are the dead, who die in the Lord," and the living 
who make virtue their choice. Lectured in Bowling 
Green, and then in Louisiana, a beautiful town on the 
Mississippi river. W. K. Kennedy, a noble man, and 
ever my steadfast friend, resided in this place. He 
served his country through the great rebellion, and 
soon after he returned home was murdered, as is sup- 
posed, on the Mississippi river. 

Preached in Frankfort, and passed on to London. 
As soon as it became known I was to lecture in Lon- 
don, a man went post haste to Hannibal, nine miles 
distant, and brought out a preacher to reply. The 
moment I was through he opened on me pell mell, 
without regard to sense or syntax. He evidently 
believed it was thunder that killed, not lightning. 
He knew nothing about the liberal faith, but thought 
he had perfect knowledge of it. In noticing his 
noisy harangue, I cut him right and left, and he very 
considerably "subsided." Drove to Hannibal and 
lectured four times. Have often preached in that 
place, and have some dear friends there. The 
Browns, the Westfalls, and others, I shall esteem as 
long as this heart beats. The latter have a charming 
home on the bluff overlooking the Mississippi river, 
embowered in trees, vines and shrubbery. All the 
fruits of this latitude grow to perfection and in won- 
derful profusion on their grounds. There are the 
apple, pear, cherry — the best varieties — plum, peach, 
grape, and berries of all kinds. It is, especially, a 
delightful summer home, and Mrs. Manford frequent- 
ly fled to it from the melting sun of St. Louis. 

A certain doctor of Hannibal published some very 
coarse and false articles in a St. Louis paper about 
Universalis!!! ; and I replied to him in such a manner 



IN THE WEST. 241 

that he armed himself to shoot me when I was in the 
town to fulfill an appointment, but his friends kept 
him from me till I had left, and he had cooled off. I 
knew nothing of the wrath of this second Achilles 
till I returned to Hannibal a month after. I was not 
blameless, but hardly merited being shot. 

Lectured in Palmyra, in the Court-House full of 
men — one woman only being present. A preacher 
said he had one or two questions to ask. 

" State your questions and I will try to answer 
them," 

"Are you from the East?" 

" I have the honor of being a son of old Massachu- 
setts." 

" Are you an abolitionist ?" 

" Yes, sir ; I believe in the abolition of the devil 
and all his works." 

" That is not what I mean. Are you a political 
abolitionist?" 

" I think every wrong in politics should be abol- 
ished, and finally will be." 

" But are you for abolishing slavery in Missouri, 
and the other Southern states ?" 

" I believe negro slavery to be wrong in morals and 
in politics, and a curse to the white man and the black 
man ; but it is sustained by the laws of the land, I do 
not expect to do anything unlawful against it. But 
what is your object in questioning me in this public 
manner?" 

"I wanted to know your sentiments." 
" You have them on slavery ; and now I will give 
them concerning yourself. My opinion of you is, 
that you are a very meddlesome and officious fel- 
low." 

Although, probably, nearly all present were intense- 
ly proslavery, for Palmyra was always strong in that 
direction, they generally condemned the preacher for 
his impertinence, and treated me kindly. I journey- 



242 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

ed to Tully and lectured several times. Had the fol- 
lowing conversation with a church member : 

" You told us last evening, that the common theory 
of a judgment day, at the end of time, was a delu- 
sion. The Scriptures certainly teach what you were 
pleased to term a delusion." 

" Do you think that (rod judges in the earth ?" 

" I do. We are in his presence every moment of 
our earth-life, and he judges between the good and 
the bad ; the righteous are exalted, and the wicked 
are debased. The Bible expressly says, c There is a 
God who judgeth in the earth.' " 

" Yery good. You also contend, that at death we 
are sent to heaven or hell. Of course this is not done 
till we are judged. Civil tribunals do not hang a 
man and then judge him. He is judged first. The 
Divine Judge surely does not consign any to hell 
without a previous judgment. I have heard ministers 
of your faith at funerals tell the mourners, that the 
departed have gone to the bar of God to give an 
account of the deeds done in the body, and that jus- 
tice will be meted out to them. Do you believe that 
we go at death to the bar of God ?" 

" That is a solemn truth, and we should have that 
judgment in all our thoughts from the cradle to the 
grave." * 

" You think, I suppose, that there is to be a judg- 
ment day at the end of the world." 

" I certainly do ; and that is what I understood you 
to deny." 

" According to your theology God will judge the 
world three times. 1. All are judged in this world, 
you assert. 2. All are judged at death. 3. All will 
be judged at the end of the world. Here are three 
distinct judgments. I, on the other hand, contend, 
that God judges us but once, and that will continue 
as long as we live. His law is stamped on the soul, 
and our eternal life will only increase it impression, 



IN THE WEST. 243 

its vividness, and by that immutable law, ingrained 
in the soul, we are now judged, and ever will be 
judged. . If our character is in harmony with that 
law, peace, bliss, heaven is our portion. If we are 
disloyal to that law, we are crushed on the iron track. 
And what is true now ever will be true — obedience 
ever will lead to heaven, and disobedience to hell. 
Instead of their being three judgments, there is only 
one; and instead of three seasons of judgment, the 
true judgment is eternal. I believe, then, in an ever- 
lasting and universal judgment." 

" I should like to hear a discourse on that kind of 
a judgment, for it is a new idea to me." 

"I will deliver a discourse on that subject this 
evening." 

Traveled to Memphis, where I spoke six times. 
Delivered a discourse on the occasion of the death of 
C. S. Webber, who had departed this life about one 
year previous. He was from Ohio, and had labored 
in Missouri two years. The good cause lost an active 
and efficient laborer in his cleath. He was untiring 
in his efforts, and it was his delight to proclaim the 
unsearchable riches of heaven. At a subsequent visit 
to this place, a clergyman arose in the congregation, 
and propounded some thirty or forty questions, which 
he had written for the occasion, and desired me to 
answer them, which I did as I best could. 

" You teach that punishment is designed to reform 
the sinner. "What evidence is there that you are cor- 
rect?" 

"Every sorrow, every pain, resulting from trans- 
gression, is a voice of God telling the offender that he 
has done wrong, has violated a law of the Creator, 
and is on the open road to ruin, and urges him to 
retrace his steps. It is a thunder-clap from the Al- 
mighty, reverberating through the soul and body of 
the transgressor, telling him of his prodigality, warn- 
ing him to flee from the wrath to come, and begging 



244 TWENTY-FIVE TEAES 

him to return to truth and duty. Pain is as clearly 
and as certainly the voice of God condemning vice, 
and urging the offender to abandon the forbidden 
path, and walk in virtue's ways, as any word ever 
spoken by a living prophet. It is God speaking 
directly to man, face to face." 

" Happiness also being the natural and sure result 
of virtue, is a divine approbation of the christian life ; 
it is the voice of God sanctioning virtue and encour- 
aging the good man in righteousness. And this 
approbation of virtue, and condemnation of vice, is a 
revelation to man in all climes and ages. It is older 
than the written Bible, and is proclaimed to all the 
sons and daughters of earth, ' Day unto day uttereth 
speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. 
There is no speech nor language, where their voice is 
not heard.' Ps. xix. 2, 3." 

" True, it is often drowned in the clamor of passion, 
disregarded by the ignorant, and unheeded by the 
thoughtless ; but its testimony against all wrong, and 
for all right, constantly sounding in the ears, and 
being telegraphed through the soul and body of every 
human being, has ever more or less curbed the pas- 
sions of the vicious, and promoted righteousness. 
Happiness is man's end and aim. For that he toils 
from the cradle to the grave; and he is assured from 
his own experience, which is the revelation from God 
to man I have been speaking of, that vice surely 
brings misery, and virtue surely brings happiness. 
This fact in every one's experience has every where 
lessened vice and increased virtue, notwithstanding 
passion, ignorance, false philosophy, and false relig- 
ion — flesh and the devil — have blasphemously called 
it delusion, irreligion, infidelity." 

" You remarked in your first discourse, that there 
is an analogy between the earth and man. Is not 
that infidelity ?" 

" I can see no infidelity in it. It is best not to be 



IN THE WEST. 245 

afraid of the truth. That there is a striking analogy 
between man's physical organism, and the earth of 
which it is a product, is certainly correct. 1. The 
rock of the earth corresponds to the bones in the hu-. 
man frame. 2. The dust covering the rocky skeleton 
of the earth corresponds to the flesh spread over these 
bones. 3. The veins of water meandering through 
the earth answer to the purple currents coursing, 
every part of the body. 4. The earth has internal 
fires, the body has internal heat. 5. The hair of the 
head, which is a vegetable, corresponds to the vegeta- 
ble growth covering the earth. 6. The earth is even 
sometimes sick, like man, and is only relieved by 
vomiting forth its feverish contents. 7. The earth is 
surrounded by an atmosphere ; philosophers tell us, 
that every man is enveloped in an atmosphere, emen- 
ating from his body. 8. The earth was once in a 
ruder condition than it is now ; man was once coarser, 
more brutal than he is at the present time. 9. Man 
had a beginning — i in the beginning God made the 
heavens and the earth.' 10. This mortal body must 
die, be decomposed, . return to the source whence it 
came; will not this earth die, be decomposed, and 
return whence it came? The gentleman may call 
this infidelity if he pleases. He can then finish the 
chapter of folly by calling summer, winter; heat, 
cold ; light, darkness ; truth, error ; virtue, vice ; and 
God, devil." 

A Presbyterian minister replied to one of my dis- 
courses, and after answering his objections, I proceed- 
ed southward, and lectured in Sand Hill, Milford, 
Edina and Newark. Subsequently I had an appoint- 
ment to debate four days with a man in Newark. 
He was to try to sustain this proposition — "Univer- 
salism is no better than infidelity." But it being 
impossible for me to reach there at the appointed 
time, the discussion did not take place, and I never 
could induce him afterwards to discuss that proposi- 



246 TWENTY-FIVE TEARS 

tion. I delivered a series of discourses in Newark 
soon after this disappointment, and thus noticed the 
gentleman's proposition : 

Mr. Matlock, I understand, when he was here to 
debate with me, told you in what respect " Universal- 
ism is no better than infidelity." Universalism, he 
made out, agrees in one or two points with infidelity, 
therefore he wisely concluded that the whole system 
is no better than infidelity. Let us see what Camp- 
bellism is according to this rule. Mormonism says, 
there is a God, and that he will torment millions of 
mankind eternally; Campbellism says the same, 
therefore Campbellism is no better than Mormonism, 
and Mr. Matlock might as well go to Salt Lake and 
marry a dozen of his Mormon sisters. Paganism 
says, there is a burning hell for the wicked ; Camp- 
bellism says there is a burning hell for the wicked, 
therefore Campbellism is no better than Paganism, 
and Mr. Matlock had better sacrifice his jackass to 
appease the wrath of his offended God. Catholicism 
teaches, that the unbaptized will all be lost ; Camp- 
bellism teaches the same, therefore Campbellism is no 
better than Catholicism, and Mr. Matlock had better 
join the "mother church," migrate to Kome, and 
sanctify himself by kissing the great toe of " his holi- 
ness," the pope. Atheism tells us, that man is mor- 
tal and mast die; Campbellism tells the same; Camp- 
bellism, then, is no better than Atheism. 

But no system can be farther from infidelity than 
Universalism. It is all aglow with wisdom, justice, 
mercy, goodness, holiness, truth and virtue. It 
teaches, that there is a God who rules in heaven and 
on earth, thafr man is in his image, and in imitating 
him we derive our chief good, and that we are des- 
tined to approximate his adorable perfections forever 
and ever. A person must have a dark and deformed 
mind, who^ can denounce that spiritual system, and 
brand it with infidelity. 



IN THE WEST. 247 

At another time in going from Newark to Edina, 
the rain poured down in torrents till I was about half 
way through, when the wind suddenly changing to 
the north, and the thermometer fell in one hour to 
four degrees below zero. When I reached a haven I 
was encased in a thick coat of ice, and could not get 
out of the saddle without assistance. The next day I 
rode thirty miles over the prairie in the face of a 
northwest wind, that cut like a razor. 

From Newark I proceeded to Shelbyville, and 
spoke several times. Have often lectured there since. 
Thence to Paris, Middle Grove, Columbia, in all of 
which towns I had large congregations. Lectured in 
Fayette, and then crossed the Missouri river, one 
hundred and sixty miles from St. Louis, and preached 
in Booneville, a beautiful town on the bank of " Big 
Muddy," as the Missouri is often called. This is a 
mighty river. Its waters, from hundreds of fountains 
in the Rocky Mountains, after dashing through deep 
gorges, tumbling over vast precipices, and winding 
over the immense deserts of the far west, all combine 
and make one of the largest rivers in the world. 
Although it is here a wide, deep and rapid stream, it 
is nearly two thousand miles to where it pours its vast 
contents into the salt sea. The bluffs on each side of 
it, two or three hundred feet high, are about seven 
miles apart, and show what this river has been doing 
these many years. The clay and rock that once filled 
that vast channel, seven miles wide, three hundred 
feet deep, and thousands of miles long, has all been 
floated away in its ceaseless and resistless tide — car- 
ried south, and helped to redeem Louisiana and Mis- 
sissippi from ocean's dominions. 

About the finest country in the world is bordering 
on this river in the state of Missouri. On the north 
side of the river, from Iowa to where it connects with 
the Mississippi river, and on the south side from 
Nebraska, through Kansas to Jefferson City, Mo., the 



248 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

land is rolling, well timbered, and the soil rich, warm 
and deep. Tobacco, hemp, the cereals, the grasses, 
and the fruits of the temperate climate, grow here 
abundantly, and as near perfection as in any country. 
Mighty cities will be built on the banks of this great 
river, a dense population will throng its shores, and 
civilization will here attain its highest degree of glory. 

Journeyed to Georgetown, and lectured several 
times; a man replied, I rejoined, when he said no 
more. Proceeded to Calhoun and preached twice; 
thence to Clinton where I spoke three times. This 
was the limits of my journey south. I was in the 
southwest part of Missouri. The country was thinly 
settled, and the adherents of the liberal faith were 
very scarce. L. C. Marvin had resided in Booneville, 
and preached some in this region, but there was no 
organization, and little was known of our faith. Still 
my congregations were large, and the people listened 
respectfully. This is an excellent field for a mission- 
ary. It is a beautiful country, and will soon be 
densely settled. 

Traveled east to "Warsaw, on the Osage river, and 
delivered my message. One preacher replied, and 
another asked many questions, so I had about as 
much as I could attend to. The latter inquired, if we 
organize churches, build meeting-houses, and ordain 
ministers ; and was much surprised when informed of 
the number of our churches, meeting-houses and min- 
isters. "Do you profess to be Christians?" said he. 
When I replied, yea, he added, "Well, I did not 
know that." - 

Proceeded to Jefferson City ; reached there about 
dark, wet and cold, for it had rained all day. Stop- 
ped at a hotel, and inquired if there was ah appoint- 
ment for me ; the landlord thought there was at the 
Court-house. Hastened to the place without supper, 
as I had no time to attend to that, and found the 
Court-house lighted, and seven or eight very respeeta- 



IN THE WEST. 249 

ble appearing men in the large room. "No more 
came, and I delivered a long discourse to that small 
crowd. When I was through, I mentioned the paper 
I was publishing in St. Louis, and every man present 
subscribed for it ; and I found that they were some of 
the notables of the state — the lieutenant-governor, 
secretary of state, treasurer of state, auditor of state, 
post-master of the town, and two lawyers. 

The next day crossed the Missouri river to its north 
side, and rode to Fulton, where I lectured, and then 
proceeded to Danville. Here I meet with opposition. 
When I had taken my seat in the Court-house, a man 
arose in the congregation, and wished me to take for 
nry text, the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. I 
spoke one hour on that subject, although I had rode all 
day on horseback. As soon as I was through with my 
discourse on that text, another wanted an explanation 
of the " lake of fire " and " second death." I accom- 
modated him, when a third one replied to what I had 
said on both passages. I spoke another hour, and 
was glad to have some rest. Rode next day to War- 
renton, thirty miles, and lectured, and by request, told 
the people all I knew about the devil. One man in 
the house seemed to think I had not done that charac- 
ter justice, and so he added what I omitted with refer- 
ence to his being, history, works, character and future 
prospects. He made him out to be a very powerful 
being, more than a match for the Almighty, and the 
author of all the sin and woe of this world. I asked 
the preacher, whence the devil derived all his power 
to do so much mischief, and he would not condescend 
to inform me. I asked him why God did not kill the 
devil if he was such an enemy to him, and he said 
that was an infidel question. 

I told the people I had not a particle of faith in 
the devil of the Methodist creed, for the gentleman 
was of that order. It represents him as a god — the 
o-od of hell — and the good book does not require 



250 TWENTY-FIVE TEARS 

faith in such a god. But there are devils many, that 
have a real existence. Every evil thought, purpose, 
passion; every error we cherish, and every wicked 
act we do, is a devil, for each and all of them are ene- 
mies to our peace, happiness and prosperity. Instead 
of preaching devils, let us go to work and kill those 
first in our own heart, and then aid our neighbors in 
exterminating those in their hearts. This would be 
dealing with devils to a good purpose. 

After riding two more days I reached home. Had 
been absent three months, delivered eighty-four dis- 
courses, and rode about eight hundred miles. I was 
well pleased with my journey, for I had made many 
acquaintances, obtained a large number of subscribers 
for the paper, and had accomplished, I thought, some 
good. Mrs. Manford issued the October and Novem- 
ber numbers of the paper in my absence. 



m THE WEST. 251 

CHAPTER XV. 



The Golden Era Issued Semi-Monthly — The Missourians — Slave 
Holders — Travel in Southern Missouri — If Endless Woe is True 
all Nature would Weep — Region op Iron — Dunkards in Millers- 
ville — In Southern Illinois — Philosophy op Christ Being the 
Savior op the World — Refuse to Debate — Discussion in Carlyle 
— -Inspiration — Our Name — Partialism Approaches Infidelity — 
Three Downward Steps — Reply to a Sermon — Hayne's Sermon — 
Mr. Lewis Debating on his Knees — Written Discussions with 
two Methodist Ministers — In Northern Missouri— A Preacher 
Replies — A Log Cabin — Talk With a Slave — Thomas Abbott — 
Negroes Hung — The Golden Era — Mrs. Manford Lecturing — 
Let Woman Work — A Circuit in Missouri — Traveling in Cold 
Weather — Debate in Quincy. 

"When the second volume of the Golden Era was 
commenced, it was issued semi-monthly, and changed 
to a quarto form. Its circulation rapidly increased, 
but I found it rather hard to pay expenses, for St. 
Louis was, and still is, a very dear place in which to 
live or do business. Labor, rent, paper, commanded 
high prices, and living expenses were about double 
they were in Indianapolis. If the people with whom 
I labored had not liberally compensated me, I could 
not have kept square with the world. But I found 
the Missourians to be hospitable, generous and liberal ; 
and I shall ever remember with gratitude the many 
kindnesses I have received from their hands. I dif- 
fered from many of them concerning slavery, and they 
knew it ; but I am not conscious of any ill treatment 
from any one on that account. We often canvassed 
our differences, but in the kindest spirit on both sides, 
and some of my best friends were extensive slave 
holders. Many good people suppose that every slave 
holder was a semi-savage; but that is a great mis- 
take. Some of the best men and women I was ever 



252 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

acquainted, with owned slaves. They thought slavery- 
was the normal condition of the black man, that God 
made him for servitude to the white man. They 
were educated to regard slavery in this light. Their 
churches, their pastors, their school teachers, so taught 
them. Slavery, then, was not wrong, but according to 
the laws of God. Those who know any thing of man 
well know that the most moral, most christian people, 
may cherish intellectual errors without being morally 
corrupted. But slavery is now dead, and I have met 
but few in Missouri who are not glad of it. Although 
in their estimation, slavery was right enough, it was 
unprofitable, perplexing, and the bone of contention 
in the nation, and they are glad the cause of so much 
strife is no more. If slavery could be restored in 
Missouri to-day by the vote of the people, not one in 
twenty would vote — restore it. 

Daring the second year I was in St. Louis, I trav- 
eled through Southern Missouri, Southern Illinois, and 
into the south part of Indiana. This journey occu- 
pied six weeks. Lectured in Potosi, forty miles south 
of St. Louis. A clergyman replied in a very bitter 
tone. I had spoken of the terrible doctrine of end- 
less woe, and remarked, that if it was a fact in God's 
universe, it seemed to me, that all nature would utter 
cries of woe. He was offended at the remark. I 
repeated, that if nine tenths of the inhabitants of 
God's universe are to howl eternally in hell, nature, 
being all alive with goodness, would utter cries of 
woe. 

" The woods would begin and tell it to the doleful winds ; 
And doleful winds, wail to the howling hills ; 
And howling hills, mourn to the dismal vales; 
And dismal vales, sigh to the sorrowing brooks ; 
And sorrowing brooks, weep to the weeping streams; 
And weeping streams, awake the groaning deep. 
The heavens, great archway of the universe, 
Would put sackcloth on; and Ocean, clothe herself 
In garb of widowhood, and gather all 



IN THE WEST. 253 

Her waves into a groan, and utter it, 
Long } loud, deep, piercing, dolorous, immense." 

But instead of this universal wailing of woe, all 
nature is praising God for his goodness to the chil- 
dren of men. Oh, what mockery all this would be, 
if cries of agony, and wails of despair are to ascend 
forever! I cannot subscribe to such a creed if I 
would, and would not if I could. 

Journeyed to Iron Mountain, and lectured once. 
Here is the far famed Iron Mountain, three hundred 
and twenty-eight feet high, and at its base covers an 
area of five hundred acres. How far downward the 
ore extends is not known, but an artisan well, one 
hundred and fifty feet deep, at the base of the hill, 
does not reach the limits of the iron. Its average 
yield in the furnace is fifty-six per cent. Near the 
surface the ore is found in pebbles or lumps, varying 
in size. Below, it becomes more compact and mas- 
sive. 

Six miles south, are other deposits of iron ore, not 
less rich, and, in all probability, not less extensive. 
One of these is Pilot Knob, Hve hundred and eighty- 
one feet high, with a base of three hundred and sixty 
acres. Sixty per cent, of this ore is iron. One mile 
from Pilot Knob is Shepherd Mountain, six hundred 
and sixty feet high, and covers eight hundred acres. 
This hill is penetrated with veins or dykes of iron 
ore, running in different directions. The ores obtain- 
ed therefrom, are the magnetic, the specular, and a 
mixture of the two. The iron yield at the furnace is 
about the same as that of the other hills. There are 
known to be other very valuable deposits of iron ore 
in this vicinity, besides those I have named ; and 
likely there are others not yet discovered, in the adja- 
cent hills. There are also rich deposits of lead and 
zinc in different localities in Southern Missouri. 
Yast deposits of coal are likewise found in nearly all 



254 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

parts of the state. The truth is, Missouri, in mineral 
wealth, exceeds any other state in the tTnion ; and 
the day will surely come when her immense resources 
will be developed. 

Passed on to Millers ville, where I found a large 
settlement of Dunkards, who had gradually emerged 
into Universalism. Soon after my visit they dis- 
solved their connection with that sect. They migrat- 
ed from North Carolina to that section while it be- 
longed to Spain. A brother by the name of Hend- 
ricks preached with them till he died ; then another 
brother of the settlement, J. H. Miller, was set apart 
for the ministry, and he dying a year since, — . Miller 
occupies his place as teacher. They do not go abroad 
for ministers, but select one of their number for the 
ministerial office, and he officiates till he is called 
home, and then another is chosen from the communi- 
ty as his successor. This, probably, was the apostojic 
method ; and these excellent people, in christian vir- 
tues, and in simplicity of manners, come as near the 
original Christians as any since the first century of 
the Dispensation of Grace. When the rebellion 
raged in the land, to a man and woman, they we*e 
true to their country ; and being in a very exposed 
position, they suffered sorely. I was in the neighbor- 
hood several times during the war ; and at one time 
some rebels threatened to hang me, but they were 
told that if an hair of my head was hurt, an hundred 
men would instantly shoulder their muskets, and rid 
the settlement of rebels forever. 

Crossed the Mississippi river at Cape Girardeau, 
one hundred and fifty miles below St. Louis, and trav- 
eled through the southern portion of Illinois to Mt. 
Yernon, Ind., on the Ohio river. Was one week 
between those points, and lectured ten times. Found 
but few who knew anything about the doctrines of 
the Restitution, and could not learn that a discourse 
had ever been before delivered in all that region in 



IN THE WEST. 255 

their defense. Of course the prejudices of the peo- 
ple were strong against me, but large numbers attend- 
ed my meetings, and I was kindly treated. Robert 
Dale Owen attended one of them, and expressed him- 
self favorably. 

At Elizabethtown a lawyer wished to know the 
philosophy of Christ being the Savior of the world. 
1 replied thus : Jesus Christ was a man, a mere man, 
nothing but a man. But what is a man ? He is the 
last, the best, the crowning work of God — the ulti- 
mate of the universe, made in the " image and glory 
of GodP Jesus is called in the Bible, " The man, 
Christ Jesus." He was the man of men, a perfect 
man, fully developed in all his spiritual faculties — 
head and shoulders above his brothers. Go into a 
corn-field, and you will find one ear larger than any 
other ear ; it is # only though an ear of corn. Go to 
the forest, and you will find one tree larger than any 
other tree ; it is only though a tree. So, Christ was 
a man, but he was the largest man, spiritually, that 
ever lived ; and that fact makes him our teacher, our 
savior. He cannot be otherwise. We cannot teach 
him ; he must teach us. He is our heaven-appointed 
teacher, and all he said, and all he did, is the natural 
result of his spiritual pre-eminence. If this is correct 
his divine mission is based in nature, is based on the 
throne of God, and the gates of hell can never pre- 
vail against it. He will continue his work till all are 
taught, all are enlightened, all are saved. Greece 
and Rome had their wise men ; but who of the best 
of them taught and lived as Jesus did? "Thou 
shall," said he, " love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, soul and strength, and thy neighbor as thyself; 
bless and curse not ; return good for evil ; do by oth- 
ers as you would have others do by you." He not 
only taught this with his lips, but his works, his char- 
acter, his soul, his life, were in perfect harmony with 
such wisdom. He was godlike, thought God's 



256 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

thoughts, spoke God's words, and did God's works. 
Heaven and earth will ever proclaim him — "the 
Savior of mankind." 

Delivered several discourses in Mt. Yernon, a 
pleasant town on the Ohio river, and then proceeded 
to Evansville, where I also lectured. A preacher 
here replied in a very abusive manner, and I paid 
but little attention to him. This offended the gentle- 
man, and he dared me to a discussion. I refused 
to have anything to do with him, as Christ had said, 
" Cast not your pearl before swine." 

Returned to St. Louis through Booneville," Yin- 
cennes, Lawrenceville, Olney, Salem, Carlyle, and 
lectured in all those places. 

About this time I had a discussion in Carlyle, 111., 
with Mr. Stafford, a Presbyterian clergyman. We 
were to continue the discussion four days, but he 
brought it to a close at the end of the second day by 
going home, as he said, to tind a calf that had jumped 
out of the lot. "Whether he found the calf I cannot 
say, as he did not return to report his success. He 
knew Dothing of the liberal faith, save what he had 
learned from its enemies, and was poorly prepared to 
meet the arguments in its favor. 

He charged our people with denying the Bible, 
and I replied, We do not deny the Bible. We be- 
lieve it contains a record of God's revelation to man. 
We do not say that every book, chapter, verse and 
letter, from Genesis to Revelation, is inspiration. 
The Bible makes no such pretention. Considerable 
part of the Old and New Testaments is historical; 
and intelligent and well informed men, can write 
history correctly without inspiration, especially if they 
are eye-witnesses of what they relate. Jesus Christ, 
" the author and finisher of our faith," was guided 
and illuminated by the Holy Spirit. His soul was in 

Eerfect harmony with the Great Soul of the universe, 
ence he said, " I and my Father are one." " He who 



m THE WEST. 257 

hath seen the Son hath seen the Father also ;" hence, 
truth, from the Fountain of truth, flowed into his 
soul as naturally as water flows into a sponge ; hence 
to do his Father's will was his meat and drink; hence 
the wisdom he uttered was the wisdom of God. He 
is then the Way, the Truth, and the Life ; the Teach- 
er and Savior of man. He is a medium through 
which God speaks to, and blesses the world. Moses, 
the prophets, and the apostles, were also divinely 
illuminated, but not in the same degree Jesus was, for 
he was blessed with the spirit "without measure." 
Jesus is the central figure among those anointed men. 
He was " in the form of God," and in the " express 
image of his person," by nature and by character. 
He is a sun, but they are stars. You may call this 
denying the Bible, if you please, but I am sure this 
affirms the Bible. 

He found fault with our name — Universalist — said 
it was not scriptural. I remarked, It is admitted the 
word is not in the Bible ; but the idea often occurs in 
that book. 1. God is the universal Father of man- 
kind — "have we not all one Father?" 2. He is a 
universal Savior — "the Savior of all men." 3. Je- 
sus is a universal Savior — "the Father sent the Son 
to be the Savior of the world." 4. God's will is for 
universal salvation — "who will have all men to be 
saved." 5. God's grace brings universal salvation — 
" for the grace of God which bringeth salvation to all 
men." 6. There will be a universal ingathering into 
Christ — "gather together all things in Christ." 7. 
There is to be a universal deliverance from earthly 
corruption — "the creation shall be delivered from 
the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of 
the children of God." 8. Universal righteousness 
will finally prevail — "by the obedience of one shall 
many — the mass — be made righteous." 9. "Uni- 
versal reconciliation shall finally be effected — "God 
is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself." 10. 



2*58 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

There shall ultimately come a period of universal 
praise to God, and confession to God's glory. (Phil, ii ; 
Rev. v. 11). There will be a universal blessing of the 
nations, families and kindred — "all nations, families 
and kindred of the earth shall be blessed." 12. 
There is to be a universal resurrection to a heavenly 
condition — "in Christ shall all be made alive." 

There is propriety, then, in the name. The Ar- 
minians were once called Universalists, because they 
believed in a universal atonement. ¥e believe in a 
universal atonement, and in the universal efficacy of 
that atonement. In Europe, very learned men, men 
who master all the sciences, are called Universal- 
ists. It is an honorable name, then, a learned name, 
an appropriate name for those who recognize God 
as a universal Father and Savior, Christ as a uni- 
versal Redeemer, and who rejoice in the hope of the 
universal destruction of sin, suffering and death, and 
the universal reign of truth, virtue, life and salva- 
tion. Universal means catholic. Our church, then, 
is the true Catholic Church — all of Adam's race will 
finally be members of it, and partake of its blessings. 
What is called the Catholic Church is a very partial 
church. Notwithstanding the propriety of our name, 
I seldom use it — it sounds a little too sectarian for my 
taste. Some of my brethren are so in love with it, 
they hitch it to almost every thing. That may be all 
right ; but I am not so deeply in love with the name 
as some seem to be. I had rather be called a godly 
man than a Universalist, whether I deserve the appel- 
lation or not ; and I had rather hear my church called 
" the church of God," than a Universalist church. 

Returning to St. Louis, I lectured in Lebanon, and 
a man said the sentiments I advocated lead through 
Deism to Atheism. How is that? I replied. lam 
with the New Testament in believing in a God for 
all, and a Savior for all. Is there any Deism or 
Atheism in that ? Orthodoxy is the first step down- 



IN THE WEST. 259 

ward, for it teaches a God for all, out a Savior for 
part. It makes the first departure from the gospel. 
Deism is another step in the same direction, for it 
says a God for all, but a Savior for none. Atheism 
is at the foot of the ladder, for it proclaims a God for 
none, a Savior for none. There are, then, three 
downward steps from Christianity or ITniversalism, 
to Atheism — all — part — none. Orthodoxy is the 
half-way house between Universalism and Infidelity. 

Being requested to visit Florence, up the Illinois 
river about one hundred miles, to hear a discourse 
against Universal Salvation, and to reply if it was 
proper, I arrived by packet on Sunday at eleven 
o'clock, soon after the preacher had commenced his 
sermon. He spoke three hours, and made out, he 
supposed, a pretty strong case. After one hour's 
intermission, I replied to the discourse, which also 
occupied three hours. The preacher, and his congre- 
gation, heard me through ; and at candle lighting of 
the same day, I delivered another discourse in the 
same place. In my answer to the gentleman's dis- 
course I offered twenty-five objections to endless mis- 
ery, and twenty-five objections to his view of a great 
judgment day; gave twenty-five proofs and argu- 
ments, that virtue and vice are rewarded in this 
world ; furnished twenty-five reasons from Scripture 
for believing in the final salvation of mankind. 

A few days after this, I lectured in Naples, 111., 
and while the congregation were singing the second 
hymn, a Methodist preacher passed me a tract, which 
I had seen before. Many years ago, immediately 
after Hosea Ballou had delivered a discourse in some 
town in Yermont, Samuel Haynes, a Congregational- 
ist clergyman, a gentleman of color, and pastor of a 
white congregation, and of considerable education, 
ability, and much wit, arose and preached a sermon 
from the words of the serpent to mother Eve, " Ye 
shall not surely die." The thing was afterwards pub- 



260 TWENTY-FIVE YEAE8 

lished and scattered far and near. The tract the 
preacher gave me was Haynes' sermon. The serpent 
is represented as a Universalist preacher, and his 
words, " Ye shall not surely die," as the essence of 
Universalism. Being in a humor for it, I took parson 
Haynes' text for my text that evening, followed his 
arrangement, adopted some of his language, and put 
the " boot on the right foot," I spoke as follows : 

The Holy Scriptures are a peculiar fund of instruc- 
tion. They inform us of the origin of creation ; of 
the primitive state of man — his ignorance, folly and 
degradation. It appears that he was placed in the 
garden of Eden, with full liberty to regale himself 
with all the delicious fruits that were to be found, 
except what grew on one tree ; if he ate of that he 
should surely die on the day of transgression, (Gen. 
ii. 17,) was the declaration of the Almighty. Mark 
the language — he was not to be punished in the next 
world, but in this world, and on the day, at the very 
time he sinned. Let this be remembered, for it is 
God's truth. 

Happy were the human pair amid this delightful 
paradise, until a certain preacher endeavored to con- 
vice them that they could sin without suffering imme- 
diate punishment, without being punished on the 
day of transgression. 

We may attend to the character of the preacher ; 
to the doctrine inculcated ; to the hearers addressed ; 
to the mediums or instruments of the preaching. 

I. As to the preacher, I would observe, he is said 
by the Bible, to be the lust of the flesh. " Let no one 
say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, but 
man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own 
lust and enticed." James i. 13, 14. He is also called 
the carnal mind, and that is ever at enmity against 
God. Eead the seventh and eighth chapters of Ro- 
mans carefully. In Genesis, lust — the carnal mind 
— is personified and called a serpent, and in othel 



m THE WEST. 261 

parts of the Bible termed satan, devil and adversary, 
, for those terms mean a deceiver, an opposer, and that 
is the character of the tempter in the human breast. 
This was the tempter that led the first pair astray. 
But to be a little more particular, let it be observed, 

1. He is an old preacher. He lived about one 
thousand seven hundred years before Abraham — 
about two thousand four hundred and thirty years 
before Moses — four thousand and four years before 
Christ. It is now five thousand eight hundred and 
fifty-four years since he commenced preaching. By 
this time he must have acquired great skill in the art. 

2. He is a very cunning, artful preacher. The ser- 
pent, his prototype, is said to possess much wisdom 
and cunning. When Elymus, the sorcerer, came to 
turn away people from the faith, he is said to be full 
of all subtlety, not only because he was an enemy of 
all righteousness, but on account of his cunning and 
craftiness. He manifests his cunning by preaching 
to the world, that they shall not surely be punished 
on the day of transgression. That is a very pleasing 
doctrine to the wicked. They love to be told that 
the time of retribution is far in the distance, espe- 
cially as that future punishment can all be escaped by 
taking the benefit of a spiritual bankruptcy, any hour 
before they die. Yes, he is a cunning preacher. 

3. He is a very laborious, unwearied preacher. He 
has been in the ministry almost six thousand years, 
and yet his zeal is not in the least abated. The apos- 
tle Peter compares him to a roaring lion, roaming 
about seeking whom he may devour. He is far from 
being circumscribed within the narrow limits of par- 
ish, state or continental lines ; but his haunts and 
travels are very large and extensive. Wherever the 
doctrine prevails that the wicked are not punished 
when and where they sin, the tempter is preaching 
the same sermon he preached to mother Eve. 

4. He is a lieterogeneoiLS preacher, if I may so 



262 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

express myself. He mixes truth with error, in order 
to make it go well, or to carry his point. Nobody . 
would bite at his hook if there was no truth on it. 
He quotes fluently from the Bible, but then we must 
receive his interpretation. If we dissent from it, all 
hell is in an uproar, and we must be kicked out of his 
church, and out of the world, if possible. Thousands 
have been burned at the stake, because they would 
not receive his interpretation of the Bible. He ad- 
mits we have reason, but then it is carnal and not to 
be trusted ; we must believe without the reason why. 
He admits there is one God, but there are three per- 
sons in the Godhead ; that is, one makes three, and 
three one. Christ is the Son of God, and at the same 
time the Father ; God is infinite in wisdom, power 
and goodness, but Christ came to reconcile him to us ; 
God icishes to save all mankind but cannot / God can 
save all mankind, but wishes to damn some to glorify 
his justice; God's justice requires the endless damna- 
tion of all men, but his mercy pleads for the salvation 
of all, and yet God's attributes all harmonize. Men 
are born totally depraved, and utterly incapable of 
doing anything acceptable to God, yet it is the duty 
of men to repent and turn to God ; Christ has made 
an atonement for the sins of the whole world, but 
half of the world be will damned eternally for their 
sins ; God is a universal Father, God is love, and yet 
will mock and laugh at the eternal groans and pains 
of his children ; heaven is the perfection of love, but 
the saints will shout glory, when they see their fath- 
ers, and mothers, and children, damned. Yes, he 
preaches truth as well as error. 

5. He is a very presumptuous preacher. Notwith- 
standing God had declared on one occasion, in the 
most plain and positive manner, " On the day thou 
eatest thereof, shall thou surely die," yet this auda- 
cious wretch had the impudence to confront Omnipo- 
tence, and say, "ye shall not surely die" — on the 



IK THE WEST. 263 

day of transgression — and he is still repeating the old 
sermon through the length and breadth of the land. 
6. He is a very successful preacher. He draws a 

freat number after him. No preacher can command 
earers like him. He was successful with our first 
parents — with the old world. Noah once preached 
to the world that the judgments of heaven would 
shortly come on wicked men, but the tempter repeat- 
ed his old sermon, and he made more converts than 
Noah did. So it was with the cities of the plains. 
Lot preached to them ; the substance of which was, 
" Up, get out of this place : for the Lord will destroy 
this city" Gen. xix. 14. But the old decl aimer told 
them, no danger, no danger; God will not punish 
men in this world, and therefore will not destroy this 
city, to which they generally gave heed, and Lot 
seemed as one who mocked. They believed the 
Orthodox preacher and were consumed. The father 
of lies is a very successful preacher. He not only 
made converts of Adam and Eve, the Antediluvians 
and Sodomites, but he has proselyted most of the 
world. Nearly all mankind contend that God's judg- 
ments are not in the earth. Dr. Franklin was about 
right when he said a lie would travel all over the 
country, while truth was putting on his boots. 

II. Let us attend still more to the doctkqte incul- 
cated by this preacher. Ye shall not surely die on 
the day of transgression. Bold assertion, without a 
single argument to support it. The death contained 
in the threatning was, doubtless, moral death. They 
did die to their former innocence, to the sweet com- 
munion which they had before enjoyed with the 
Father, to all the enjoyments of their beautiful gar- 
den of fruits and flowers. The Bible says, " To be 
carnally minded is death ;" it is termed a " death in 
trespasses and sins ;" " The wages of sin is death ;" 
"You hath he quickened who were dead;" ""We 
know we have passed from death unto life." This is 



264 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

the death threatened, and the Almighty assured 
Adam that he would suffer it on the very day he 
sinned. But the preacher said, No, all is false, there 
is no punishment in this world, no hell, the wages of 
sin is not death. 

III. We will now take notice of the hearers 
addressed by this preacher. This we have in the 
context. And the serpent said unto the woman, " Ye 
shall not surely die." That Eve had not so much 
experience as Adam, is evident ; and so she was not 
equally able to withstand temptation. This was 
doubtless the reason why the tempter chose her, with 
whom he might hope to be successful. Probably he 
took the time when she was separated from her hus- 
band. 

That this preacher has always had the greatest suc- 
cess in the dark and ignorant parts of the earth, is 
evident ; his kingdom is a kingdom of darkness. He 
is a great enemy of light. He will not permit his dis- 
ciples to hear a religious or philosophical discourse, 
read a religious or philosophical book or paper, that 
contradicts his creed — they must be like the old 
knight, read only one side of the guide-board, and if 
they happen to get an idea the old creed don't sanc- 
tion, they are called heretics. They may think, but 
not out of a given circle ; they may reason, provided 
they reason as the preacher does. And the conse- 
quence is, that where the people think, reason and 
read least. Orthodoxy has its truest adherents, and 
where the people think, reason and read most, the 
doctrine of Holy Writ is most prevalent, "Behold 
the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth, much 
more the wicked and sinner." Prov. xi. 31. 

TV. The instruments or mediums made use of by 
the preacher, will now be considered. Every person, 
creed and institution, that propagates the doctrine 
that men shall not surely die on the day of trcmsgres- 
tsion, is an instrument of the father of lies. 



m THE WEST. 265 

1. Calvinism, Arminianism, Mormonism, Catholi- 
cism, Mahommedanism and Heathenism, tell us that 
this world is not one of retribution, that God does not 
here reward virtue or punish vice. They unite in 
teaching that this life is a state of probation, of trial, 
and of course no one is punished till his probation 
3nds, his trial is closed. This is the deceiver's first 
sermon gone to seed. 

2. The preachers of all these isms are also his 
instruments. They are faithful to their father's cause, 
pd he is much attached to them. If one opposes 
iheir creed, some of them will at once exhibit the 
ipirit Gf the devil. 

3. The earth is deluged with books, pamphlets and 
mpers, teaching that men shall not be punished on 
he day of transgression. 

INFERENCES. 

1. That the devil is not dead, but still lives, and is 
ble to preach as well as ever, Ye shall not die on the 
ay of transgression. 

2. Orthodoxy is no new fangled scheme, but can 
oast of great antiquity. 

3. See a reason why it ought to be rejected because 
; is an ancient devilish doctrine. 

4. See a reason why satan is such a mortal enemy 
> the promises of the Bible, for it says, " Christ came 
) destroy the devil." Heb. ii. " Will make an end 

sin." Dan. ix. " Behold the Lamb that taketh 
;vay the sin of the world." " He is the propitiation 
»r our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of 
ie world." 

5. He hates the gospel, because it is "good news, 
ad tidings" — is the "glorious gospel of the blessed 
od" — "gospel of the grace of God" — "gospel of 
ir salvation " — " gospel of peace." 

6. He hates the true Christ, because he will save 



266 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

the world from sin, error, and death. ""We have 
seen and do testify that this is the Christ the Savior 
of the world." When the world shall be saved, 
satan's occupation will be gone. 

7. See whence it was that satan exerted himself so 
much to convince our first parents there was no pun- 
ishment in this world, because the denunciation of the 
Almighty was true, and he was afraid that Adam and 
Eve would continue in the belief of it, and so not: 
believe in endless punishment in eternity — his favor- 
ite doctrine. If there was no proof of present punish- 
ment, satan would not be so busy in trying to con- 
vince men that there was none. 

8. "We infer that ministers should not be proud of 
their preaching. If they preach the true gospel, they 
only in substance preach Christ's sermons. If they 
preach, " Ye shall not surely die on the day of trans- 
gression," they only make use of the devil's old notes 
that he delivered about six thousand years ago. 

9. It is probable that Orthodoxy will still prevail, 
since this preacher is still alive, and not in the least 
superanuated ; and every effort against him only 
enrages him more and more, and excites him to new 
inventions and exertions to build up his cause. 

To close the subject. As the author of this dis- 
course has spoken of the character of satan, he trusts 
no one will feel himself personally injured by this 
short sermon. But should any imbibe a degree of 
friendship for this aged deceiver, and think that ] 
have not treated this Orthodox preacher with that 
respect and veneration he justly deserves, let them be 
so kind as to point it out, and I will most cheerfulh 
retract; for it has ever been a maxim with me. 
" Bender unto all their due." 

This was too much for the three preachers present 
so they left in a hurry, when I reached the " infer 
ences." As they were marching out, I remarked 
" The wicked flee when no man pursueth." The; ' 






IN THE WEST. 267 

intended an insult by throwing that tract in my face ; 
but the new dress in which I returned their tract kin- 
dled their wrath ; and leaving the house as they did, 
was an acknowledgment, that they were defeated. 
The congregation fully appreciated the " situation," 
and two or three zealous hearers clapped their hands 
as the preachers were departing. 

Mr. Lewis, with whom I debated in Springfield, 
sent me word, that if I should visit Jerseyville, 111., 
his church would be at my service. Accordingly, I 
made an appointment in that place, and Mr. Lewis 
took a seat with me in the desk. I told him 1 was 
perfectly willing he should make any strictures on my 
discourse he might see proper. " Oh, no," said he, 
" I have invited you into my pulpit, and it would not 
be proper for me to reply to your discourse." In my 
sermon, I said nothing about other creeds, but pre- 
sented my own faith in as clear a light as possible. 
Mr. Lewis, at my request, made the closing prayer, 
and such a prayer was never before or since heard, 
I think. He took up my discourse, item by item, 
systematically, and replied to it. He would first tell 
the Lord what the speaker had said on a given point, 
and then say, " O Lord, thou knowest that is not 
true, for by the mouth of the prophet Isaiah, thou 
said" — and then he would quote from the Bible. 
Having argued that point to his satisfaction, he 
would take up another subject ; and so on till he got 
through with my discourse. Having finished his 
reply, I told the congregation I did not like that way 
of debating ; but he said, " I would as soon debate 
on my knees as on my feet." Before I left town, we 
made arrangements for a written discussion in the 
Golden Era. He was to write twelve letters ; but 
having written *six of them he sickened and died. I 
called on him during his sickness, at Jacksonville, 
and he said, "Brother Manford, if I do not go to 
heaven this time, I will not work as hard as I have 



268 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

done. I have "broken myself down by hard work — 
by trying to save souls." 

Soon after this, a Methodist clergyman of Indiana, 
by the name of Mahan, proposed having a written 
discussion in the Golden Era. He agreed to write 
twelve letters ; but six or seven exhausted his 
resources. Subsequently, he tried his hand at dis- 
cussion with B. F. Foster, in the Herald, and was 
handsomely defeated. 

I made a long journey through Northern Missouri 
into Iowa ; thence to St. Joseph ; then down to West- 
ern, Kansas City, Independence, Lexington, Boone- 
ville, back to St. Louis. Traveled twelve hundred 
miles, all on horseback, and lectured most every day. 
In most of the towns and villages on this route I had 
no references, and generally wrote to the postmasters 
to make appointments. The principles of the liberal 
faith were entirely new to most of the people, and as 
notices of my meetings were published pretty exten- 
sively, large numbers attended, some going ten, 
twenty, and thirty miles. I had much controversy in 
public, and many conversations in private, concerning 
the new doctrines. Found some who received them 
with glad hearts, and many others who were disposed 
to investigate before they condemned. Received but 
little compensation for my labor and time, but obtain- 
ed many subscribers for the paper. 

Have room for only a few of the incidents of this 
journey. In Kirksville, a minister asked many ques- 
tions, and finally came to the sage conclusion, that 
reason was carnal, that I was an emissary of the 
devil, and that he would say no more to me; but 
gave notice, that he should reply to my discourse the 
next Sunday. In Greentop, found a settlement of 
believers from Tennessee. They were excellent peo- 
ple ; often visited them in subsequent years ; but the 
war dispersed them, and I understand, they are scat- 
tered over the plains of Nebraska. Kirkville, near 



IN THE WEST. 269 

by, was one of the battle-fields of the rebellion; 
rebel Porter's forces were there routed and ruined, 
and the town was much injured. Colonel Linder, 
one of my friends, was an active man in the Union 
cause. I traveled on what was called the " Mormon 
Trace," — a road from Nauvoo to St. Joseph, the route 
the Mormons journeyed when they went from Nau- 
voo to Salt Lake. It was generally through a wild 
region, but the face of the country was rolling and 
pleasant. About sundown one day, I rode up to a 
cabin and inquired the distance to the next house. 

" Ten miles." 

" "Will you keep me to-night ?" 

" I reckon so ; the old woman is powerful sick ; I 
have a heap of ailments in my cabin." 

" Are there any settlements up the creek ?" 

" Oh, yes ; right smart sprinkling." 

There were fifteen men and women belonging to 
the house, and how we were all to be disposed of that 
night, was rather a puzzler to me, as there were only 
two rooms in the cabin ; but there was really no diffi- 
culty on that score. The principal room answered 
four valuable purposes, although it was not more than 
twenty feet square — it was a kitchen, dining-room, sit- 
ting-room, and bed-room. True, there were only two 
bedsteads in it, but when bed time arrived, the floor 
was covered with blankets, which afforded ample 
sleeping accommodations. I was conducted into the 
"parlor bed-room," which was entirely void of all 
"modern improvements." It was made of round 
logs, without any weather-boarding, plastering, ceil- 
ing, or " chinking ;" the stars could be seen through 
its sides and roof, while its floor was clay, covered 
about six inches deep with water. In one corner of 
the pen some stakes were driven into the mud, rails 
fastened to them, on which a straw bed was laid, with 
a blanket or two. That was my bed ; no, not mine, 
but our bed ; for soon a big fellow stretched himself 



270 TWENTY-FIVE TEAKS 

on one side of me, and lie was followed by another, 
who laid about six feet of flesh and bone across the 
foot of the bed. I was tired, and slept first-rate all 
night, and crawled out of the den in the morning 
much refreshed. 

Mine host said he had been on the frontier all his 
life ; did not own the land he occupied — was a squat- 
ter — and wanted to sell his " improvements," to go 
farther west, where he could hunt bear and buffalo. 
He said he was a Baptist ; and when I told him of 
my faith, he declared he did not want to go to heaven 
if all sinners are to go there. 

" But no sinners will go there ; they will be regen- 
erated." 

"Don't tell me that; the reprobates will not be 
regenerated ; their doom is sealed. I have grace in 
my soul, and know I am right." 

When I offered to pay him for keeping me, he 
replied, " You are welcome ; the fare was hard, but 
if you come this way again, give me a call." 

A day or two after this, I rode with a negro a few 
hours. He was returning from visiting his wife and 
children. 

" Why do you not live with your family?" 

" Master won't sell me to my wife's master, so I 
live twenty miles from her." 

" How often do you see her ?" 

" 'Bout once a month." 

" Did you ever have another wife ?" 

"Yes; but her master died, and she was taken 
south, and the children." 

"Have you heard since of her, and the children?" 

" No ; don't know whar they are ; may be dead." 

" Perhaps this wife and these children will be sold 
south." 

" I hope I may die if they be." 

" Why do you not buy your freedom ?" 

" Master won't sell me. I offered him a thousand 



IN THE WEST. 271 

dollars, and pay bim in Hive years, but he would not 
sell me. Black men can't do anything." 

" Are you treated well ?" 

" Yes ; but I work hard ; but I would not mind 
that if my family were with me." 

" "Where are you from ?" 

" Virginia ; left thar many years ago." 

" Where are your parents ?" 

" Sold south, long ago." 

" Where are your brothers and sisters ?" 

" Don't know whar they are ; sold to a trader." 

" Do you belong to any church ?" 

"I belong to the Methodist church, and try to 
preach." 

" How often do you preach ?" 

" Most every Sunday." 

" In how many places ?" 

* Four places." 
Are you paid for preaching ?" 

" The black people pay me a little." 

" Do you think your white master will go to heaven?" 

" Why, yes." 

" Do you think slavery is right ?" 

" I can't think it is." 

"How then can you think slave-holders can be 
saved ?" 

" I don't know how, but I sort of think some of 
them will be saved." 

" Would you not save all white men and all black 
men if you could ?" 

" That I would." 

"Will not God save them all?" 

"Why, no." 

" Then you are better than God, are you ?" 

"Why, master, who ever heard of God saving all 
men ? Now, I think of it, a man is to preach in Gen- 
try ville to-night, who preaches that very doctrine, and 
I am bound to hear him." 



272 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

" What do the people say about him ?" 

" They say he is a bad man, and I believe he is, or 
he would not preach such a doctrine." 

Here the negro left me to go to his home, and I 
saw him at the window of the school-house that even- 
ing, the picture of astonishment. Met him in the 
street the next day, and he said, " Master, forgive me 
for what I said yesterday." 

Lectured in Weston, and became acquainted with 
Thomas Abbott, who was residing and preaching in 
that place. He subsequently moved to St. Louis, and 
for several years past has resided in Mt. Yernon, Ind. 
He obeys the injunction, " Go and preach." He does 
go, far and near ; he labors in season and out of sea- 
son, in his Master's service. He has also become -a 
a noted debater, and has had great success in preach- 
ing and debating. 

On the other side of the Missouri was Kansas Ter- 
ritory, inhabited then only by Indians, but now is a 
populous state, with several large cities. While I 
was in Lexington on this journey, or at a subsequent 
time, two negroes were hung for murdering their 
owner. He had whipped them unmercifully, and 
they killed him for it. They rode from the prison 
to the gallows, through the principal streets of town, 
in a wagon, on their coffins; white hoods were on 
their heads, white frocks were thrown over their 
shoulders, and large ropes were around their necks. 
On the road to the gallows, the poor creatures sang 
as loud as they could scream, 

"I am bound for the kingdom; 
Will you go to glory with me?" 

This scene, take it all in all, was the most abomina- 
ble, outrageous, and disgusting exhibition I ever wit- 
nessed. " What do you think of that f " said I to a 
Methodist preacher, who was looking on with a satis- 



IN THE WEST. 273 

fied air. " The majesty of the law must be sustain- 
ed." That same fellow was a hot headed rebel when 
the war broke out. His name was Kavanagh; he 
formerly resided in Indiana. The town was full of 
negroes ; but they were silent ; I saw tears in many 
of their eyes. 

After publishing the Golden Era four years, I dis- 
posed of it to Thomas Abbott, and he soon after con- 
nected it with the Gospel Herald, a paper published 
in Indianapolis, Ind. It was being issued weekly 
when it was sold ; but I found, by experience, that a 
weekly paper of our denomination could not be sus- 
tained in St. Louis, the expense of publishing, and 
of living being so high. While I issued the paper, I 
received hardly any compensation for all my toil ; and 
Mrs. Manford did all her work gratuitously, and I 
could not have hired a person to do what she did for 
less than five hundred dollars per year. 

The Golden Era had done a good work, and it was 
like parting with a dear friend to dispose of it. Its 
circulation when it went out of my hands, was thirty- 
five hundred, I think. Its name had become quite 
popular. Captain Bursie, who was a subscriber, 
named his splendid new steamer, " The Golden Era" 
and Bridges Brothers, of St. Louis, who were also 
subscribers, called a cooking stove they patented, 
" The Golden Era." 

But I did not cease working for the good cause 
when the paper was disposed of; I rather worked 
harder than ever. For. about two years I was absent 
most of the time, preaching in Missouri, Illinois, 
Iowa and Indiana. 

Mrs. Manford was also in the field lecturing, not on 
theology, but on temperance, the elevation of woman, 
and general education. She delivered some excellent 
lectures on those subjects in Louisiana, Hannibal, Ma- 
comb, and other places. Let woman speak as well 
as man in the lecture-room, and even in the pulpit ; 



274 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

let her speak on all subjects of human interest. As 
she belongs to the human family, she is as much 
interested as man in all intellectual and moral sub- 
jects. And heaven, having gifted her with a soul, 
instinct with wisdom, purity and goodness, she is 
well qualified to instruct and moralize her race. I 
know it is quite fashionable for men to natter women 
by calling them their " better half," " angel," but to 
be indignant and disgusted if they aspire to a position 
outside of the kitchen or nursery. Such men are 
very polite to women in the street and drawing-room, 
but are wrathy if they will not be their drudges or 
play things. As woman is a citizen of the world as 
well as man, she is entitled to all the rights and priv- 
ileges he is entitled to. The world should be open to 
her intellectual and moral activities, that she may 
make the best use of her time and talent. Let her 
" sue and be sued," buy and sell, vote at the polls, 
and be president of these United States, if she can 
get votes enough. England's best rulers have been 
queens, and why would not American women make 
good presidents % 

Antiquated, and barbarous laws and customs, that 
have for ages degraded woman, are being modified 
or abandoned ; and the day is not far distant when 
she will fill the place in society that God designed, 
and humanity requires. But it must not be expected 
that she will come from the wash-tub, or band-box, in 
the one place a slave, and in the other a pet, prepared 
fully for her new position and responsibilities. She 
may long make many blunders, and for a time illy 
perform her part, all of which many self-conceited, 
and self-appointed, " lords of creation " will point to 
and triumphantly exclaim, " Did I not tell you women 
were only fit for man's convenience ?" 

I spent three months in the southwest part of Mis- 
souri, traveling on a circuit I established in that 
region. Preached monthly in twenty-five places, and 



IN THE WEST. 275 

rode from ten to forty miles nearly every day. Tried 
to get a minister to continue the work but failed. 
Good societies could have been established in Boone- 
ville, Georgetown, Calhoun, Clinton, Oseola, Lees- 
ville, Warsaw, Pisgah, Kocheport — places I visited. 
I also spent six months traveling and preaching in 
the northern part of the state. Yisited twenty-two 
places monthly for six months, and rode most every 
day. Spent three days each month at home. I also 
failed in my effort to induce a minister to locate in that 
region. Clergymen of the liberal faith, residing in 
the free states, were averse to moving into Missouri, 
it then being a slave state. They were not only gen- 
erally opposed to slavery, regarding it as " the sum of 
all villainy," but they had no faith our cause could 
be permanently established among slave-holders. 
They though that human slavery and Universalism 
were eternally and universally at war with each other. 

The winters of 1855 and '56 were about the coldest 
ever experienced in the West, and I spent both win- 
ters in Iowa, traveling and lecturing. Often rode on 
horseback all day when the thermometer was far 
below zero, and delivered a long discourse at night. 
The Iowa prairies are cold places in a cold day, espe- 
cially to one whose face is northward. If I had 
twenty, thirty, or forty miles to ride, I always made 
it a rule not to go near a fire till I had finished my 
day's travel. Some men I have rode with, must 
warm themselves by a fire, whenever they get a little 
cold, and swallow perhaps a dram of liquor ; and I 
noticed that they always suffered much more from 
cold than I did. The best method for a traveler, in 
an arctic day, to get up an internal heat, is, not by 
whisky, not by sitting by a fire a few moments, but 
by thrashing his arms, swinging his legs, or running 
a short distance by the side of his horse. 

I had a public discussion in Quincy, 111., with a 
Methodist preacher, which continued four days. 



276 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

Large numbers attended, and much good was effect- 
ed. The day after the discussion closed, which was 
Sunday, a society was organized, and soon after a 
meeting-house was erected. The society prospered 
for awhile, under the ministry of J. H. Hartzell, now 
of Buffalo, N. Y. But he leaving-, it was finally dis- 
banded, and the meeting-house sold, and many of its 
members united themselves with the Unitarian socie- 
ty of the place. Quincy is a flourishing town, on the 
east bank of the Mississippi river, and is growing 
rapidly in importance. The river will probably be 
bridged there within a few years. 



IN THE WEST. 277 

CHAPTER XVI. 



The Golden Era — Extensive- Traveling — In Missouri and Kansas — 
Talk with a Deist in Jefferson City — Moses — The Prophets — 
Replied to in Pisgah — Talk with a Rum-seller — In Kansas City 
— In Wyandotte — Conversation with a Clergyman Concerning 
Christ and his Work — Lectured in Leavenworth — Destruction 
of Man's Enemies — In St. Joseph — The Mercy of God — In Kings- 
ton — Rich Man and Lazarus. 

As I have said in a previous chapter, the Golden 
Era, after it passed out of my hands, was merged 
into the Gospel Herald, a paper published in Indian- 
apolis, Ind., and St. Louis was without a denomina- 
tional paper. This was not contemplated when I dis- 
posed of that paper. Mr. Abbott was confident, that 
with my assistance as editor, it could be sustained in 
St. Louis; but experience taught him otherwise. 
Although being well satisfied that a weekly paper 
could not be supported in St. Louis, I was confident 
that a monthly magazine could be, and hence in 1857 
I commenced a monthly periodical, called Manford's 
Monthly Magazine. It contained twenty-four pages, 
and the price was one dollar per year. By the close 
of the first volume I had two thousand subscribers — 
a pretty good beginning. Mrs. Manford was co- 
editor, book-keeper, and generally assisted in mailing 
the magazine. 

I resolved to again canvass Missouri, Illinois, Iowa 
and Indiana, for the benefit of the new journal ; and 
from 1857 to the spring of 1861, I was a large por- 
tion of the time on the wing. The Magazine was 
popular with our people, and I had no difficulty in 
obtaining subscribers. The articles were chiefly doc- 
trinal, explanatory, and answers to the ten thousand 
objections usually offered to the liberal faith. 



278 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

During the first year of its publication, I took a 
horseback journey up the Missouri river into Kansas, 
and was absent nearly all winter. At a hotel in Jef- 
ferson City I had the following conversation with a 
Deist : 

" I believe the Old Testament is full of lies, fables 
and absurdities. I would as soon believe i Guliver's 
Travels ' to be divine as the old Bible." 

" You are too fast, my friend. Without pretending 
that the Old Testament is perfect, I find many excel- 
lencies in that book. That Moses, the principal char- 
acter of it, had a deep insight into many spiritual 
realities, must be conceded by every candid person. 
He was born, brought up, educated, and lived till he 
was eighty years old, in the midst of the grossest 
superstition. The Egyptians deified the bull, the cat, 
the snake, the crocodile ; and many of their other 
religious notions corresponded with such debased 
superstitions. Moses boldly denounced the whole 
of their mythological abominations; and declared 
that there was only one God, and that he was a spir- 
itual being, and ruled in heaven and on earth. The 
Egyptians believed in a formal judgment for every 
soul after death ; Moses taught that God judgeth in 
the earth. The Egyptians maintained that there was 
a hell for some and a heaven for others over the river 
of death ; Moses taught on all occasions that virtue is 
rewarded, and vice is punished, in this world. These 
four tenets are the ground-work, the basis, of Moses' 
system. He introduced certain forms and ceremonies 
to be practiced, till a superior Light would bless the 
world, and his countrymen be more advanced in civil- 
ization, and when that Light came they were laid 
aside. But his doctrines of one God, who rules the 
universe, and rewards virtue and punishes vice, are 
not obselete. They are eternal truths, and you say 
you believe them. You are then a disciple of Moses, 
fool as you say he was. That Moses did not know 



IN THE WEST. 279 

the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, is readily 
admitted ; that all he said and did were not divine, is 
also admitted ; and it is also conceded that sometimes 
his spirit did not seem to harmonize with the forgiv- 
ing spirit of Christ. But with all his imperfections, 
he was a man among men ; he was the tallest man of 
his day, and his brow was bathed in the rising sun, 
when the world was yet shrouded in darkness." 

"To that view of Moses I do not much object. 
But what is called the history of the Jews, is contra- 
dictory, and often much exaggerated." 

" There may be errors in the Bible history of the 
Jews, but the main statements are doubtless correct. 
The writers thereof make no pretention to inspiration, 
that I know of. You do not reject the history of the 
United States, because some of the writers thereof 
contradict each other." 

" Well, there are the pretended prophets ; do you 
think they were God's prophets ?" 

" Many events they predicted have taken place. I 
believe, sir, that God has had prophets in all ages and 
climes. All history, ancient and modern, is full of 
the supernatural element. It is found in Grecian, 
Roman, European, and American histories. It is 
found in the life of Socrates, Plato, Origen, Joan of 
Arc, Swedenborg, Stirling, Lavater, Oberlin, Wesley, 
Luther, Murray, and in the life of innumerable other 
worthies of whom the world is not worthy. We find 
them among the despised and forsaken. They have 
been spit upon in all the streets in the world. They 
have been burned at the stake as enemies of God and 
man. But they cared for none of these things ; they 
knew that they were walking in the light of heaven, 
and all the powers of darkness could not terrify their 
brave souls." 

" We pity the Indian prince's ignorance of the fact 
that water by cold is converted into solid ice. He 
was sure that such a phenomena was unnatural, and 



280 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

'contrary to all human experience.' We know 
though that it is done ; and if we know anything of 
the history of mankind, we must admit that it teaches 
that supernaturalism has been prevalent at all times. 
But if we pronounce this revelation of the historic 
page, delusion, to be consistent we should call all his- 
tory imposition, for the supernatural is as well attest- 
ed as any statement of history. The truth is, there 
is an unseen hand directing all the affairs of the uni- 
verse ; and man, whether living or dying, in time or 
in eternity, is constantly controlled, more or less, by 
that invisible power. It is man's natural condition 
to be in alliance with the spiritual. When he is mate- 
rial in all his hopes and aspirations, coarse and brut- 
ish, he is in an unnatural condition, and the spirit of 
God almost parts with him, and leaves him nearly 
alone in his sins. But the pure and good are exalted 
to heavenly places, commune with the spirits of the 
just, and are enveloped in an halo of glory. Some 
rise so high, that the hand of God is on their brow, 
and then they see visions, dream dreams, heal the 
sick, raise the dead, and cast out devils. Such are 
God's prophets ; such were the Jewish prophets, and 
the world in all ages has been blessed with the divine 
utterances of such godly men and women. Although 
their brows were immersed in the sun-light of heaven, 
their feet were on this earth, and hence we may 
expect to find their revelations sometimes tinged with, 
the darkness of earth." 

Lectured in Pisgah, and a man gave notice that he 
should reply the next Sunday. I begged of him to 
offer his objections while I was in town ; he would not 
consent to, but said, " On next Sunday I will show 
that you deny the Bible, and teach a bundle of lies." 
"Name one lie I have uttered to-night." "You can 
not get me into a controversy now." Preached in 
Booneville, and then proceeded to Marshall, where I 
spoke twice. Had some talk with a rum-seller. 



IN THE WEST. 281 

" Do you think it right to poison and impoverish 
all you can ?" 

" I don't poison or impoverish." 

" You don't ! Every dram you sell poisons and 
impoverishes somebody. The body is the habitation 
built for the soul, made in the image and glory of 
God to dwell in ; and it is your business from early 
morn to late at night, to stand in your den and deal 
damnation to God's noble work. What abominable 
business for a man to engage in ! What a life to live ! 
What prostitution of time and opportunities ! I should 
think you would be fearful that the indignant earth 
would open its jaws and crush you to atoms." 

" If your doctrine is true I am safe." 
* " As my doctrine is true I would not stand in your 
shoes for all of this world. You are a curse to your- 
self, your family, and this town. The fires that are 
consuming you, are scorching all with whom you 
come in contact." 

"But you preach that all will be saved, and of 
course I am included." 

" You will not be saved in this world, nor in the 
world to come, till you repent of your sins in sack- 
cloth and ashes, and by the grace of God are thor- 
oughly regenerated. You will have to work out your 
own salvation ; and judging from your business, that 
you occupy a very low plane in this world, morally 
and spiritually, I fear you will fill a low one in the 
other land, and will have to work long and hard ere 
you will know much about heaven. I advise you not 
to credit the slang of Orthodox preachers, that accord- 
ing to Universalism all will be saved any how. We 
believe in nothing of that kind. The pure and good 
only are saved in this world, and the pure and good 
only will be saved in the immortal world. Now, my 
friend, permit me to give you one word of advice — 
sell no more liquor, drink no more liquor, engage in 
some honest calling, and live soberly, righteously and 



282 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

godly the remainder of your days. By doing so, you 
will live better, die happier — you will know some- 
thing of heaven in this world." 

Lectured in Miami, then crossed the Missouri river 
to Dewitt, where I spoke several times. A society 
was subsequently formed there, but the war broke it 
up. Held meetings in all the towns on both sides of 
the river to St. Joseph. In Kansas City lectured five 
times. This is destined to be a large place. It occu- 
pies a central position, and right in the way of trade 
and travel. It is on the bank of the Missouri river, 
and the Pacific railroad passes through the town. 
Other roads are contemplated, some or all of which 
will doubtless be built. It is also in the midst of one 
of the finest agricultural regions of the world. 

Lectured in Wyandotte, Kansas. This town joins 
Kansas City, and like two drops, they will become 
one — commercially, at least. Its site is magnificent, 
the ground gradually ascending from the river, and 
ere long it will be a rich and populous place. An 
Episcopal minister asked me various questions con- 
cerning the doctrine every where spoken against. 

" Do your people think Jesus Christ was a human 
being V 

" ¥e think he was. He certainly possessed a hu- 
man constitution and organization ; was subject to 
hunger and thirst ; was weary and cold, and was lia- 
ble to the pains and agonies * flesh is heir to.' He 
grew from childhood to youth, and thence to man- 
nood. Hence the New Testament says, 'For we 
have not a high priest which cannot be touched with 
the feelings of our infirmities ; but was in all points 
tempted like as we are, yet without sin.' Heb. iv. 15. 
6 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon 
him the- form of a servant, and was made in the like- 
ness of men : And being found in fashion as a man, 
he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, 
even the death of the cross.' Phil. ii. 7, 8. ' And the 



IN THE WE8T. 283 

word was made flesh, and dwelt among ns. John i. 
14. He was a man, and would have died ultimately 
had he lived in a age of justice and toleration." 

"What was the object of his death?" 

"I will answer in the language of the Bible. 
1 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just 
for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.' 1 Pe- 
ter iii. 18. 'For it became him, for whom are all 
things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many 
sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation 
perfect through sufferings.' Heb. ii. 10. 'For if, 
when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God 
by the death of his Son.' Rom. v. 10. Jesus came, 
not to appease God's wrath, or to quench the fire of 
hell. 

'Twas not to quench eternal fire, 
That Jesus came and spilt his blood, 

Not to appease his Father's ire, 

But to reconcile the world to God." 

His noble example in dying for man, has strengthen- 
ed the martyr's faith on many a scaffold, and when 
chained to many a fiery stake. And he died like 
them, a martyr to truth and righteousness. He 
taught love to God and man ; he lived what he taught, 
and he died confirming his teaching and his life. 
That precept, that life, and that death, have been a 
power in the world for eighteen hundred years, and 
they will be a power in this world in all coming 
time." 

" But the Bible talks about man being saved by the 
blood, or death of Christ. Do you think there was no 
special efficacy in his blood and death ?" 

" We say that our fathers died to save us from the 
oppression of Great Britain. In the same sense 
Christ died to save us from the bondage of sin, and 
to cleanse us from all allegiance to despotism. Blood 
from any one's veins can only cleanse in a figurative 



284 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

sense. It is the truth which Jesus taught that cleans- 
eth the soul ; and as his blood was shed in attestation 
of the truth, the Bible refers figuratively to that blood 
as the efficient cause of our deliverance and salvation. 
In this sense he ' bore our sins and our iniquities,' 
was ' wounded for our transgressions,' and ' b y his 
stripes we are healed.' " 

u There are men in high places in our church who 
entertain similar views, but in my estimation, they 
are erroneous. I accept the creed of the church, that 
Jesus was God, and of all the sequences of that prop- 
osition." 

Proceeded to Leavenworth, where I delivered four 
discourses. This was then a small town, but is now 
a large city, and destined to be a very important one. 
"We ought to have a minister at work there. A large 
congregation could soon be gathered. There are 
many influential families who would give such a man 
their hearty support. While here I heard the follow- 
ing conversation in an adjoining room at an hotel : 

"Did you attend the Universalist meeting last 
night?" 

" No ; I have no faith in the creed of that church. 
"What was the preacher's text ?" 

" ' I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,' were 
the words. I must confess, I was much interested. 
It was the first Universalist sermon I ever heard, and 
I am inclined to think it was the first gospel sermon I 
ever heard. I have, all my life, heard about the 
abominations of Universalism, and I supposed it was 
a mass of corruption. But if that man last night 
preached Universalism, I don't know but I must be a 
Universalist." 

" "What did he say that took you so ?" 

" Among other things he said, salvation was not 
from hell, but from sin, from error, from mental dark- 
ness; that Jesus came not to save us from eternal 
burnings, but to make us good fathers, mothers, 



IN THE WEST. 285 

brothers, sisters, children, neighbors, friends, citizens. 
There is good sense in that." 

" What did he say about the gospel ?" 

"That it is good news from God to man — that all 
sin, suffering and death will be ultimately abolished, 
and that God will be all in all. He said, that the 
meaning of the word gospel is good news, and that 
the whole system corresponds with the signification 
of the word." 

" Did he say anything about hell ? Of course he 
did not, as there is no hell in his faith." 

" He did not say. much on that subject, but gave 
notice that this evening he would give the Bible doc- 
trine of hell, and you had better go and hear what he 
has to say. The Orthodox view of religion never 
satisfied me, and I am bound to look into this new 
faith." 

A society was organized at the close of one of the 
meetings, and this man united himself with it. 

Spent two days in "Weston, Mo., and preached 
twice. Agreeably to request, I delivered a discourse 
on the destruction of the enemies to God and man, 
and took for my text, " The last enemy, death, shall 
be destroyed." 1 Cor. xv. I remarked, 1. Sin is an 
enemy to man, but that is to be destroyed. " Behold 
the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the 
world." "For this purpose was the Son of God 
manifested that he might destroy the works of the 
devil." Sin, then, is to be destroyed. 2. The devil 
is to be destroyed. " Forasmuch as the children are 
partakers of flesh and blood, he also took part of the 
same ; that through death he might destroy him that 
hath the power of death, that is, the devil." Thus, 
the devil, and all his works, are to be destroyed. 3. 
Pain is an enemy to man, and that is to be destroyed. 
"There shall be no more pain, neither shall there be 
i sorrow nor crying, for the former things are passed 
away." How false is the doctrine of endless suffer- 



286 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

ing, endless sorrowing, endless weeping. 4. Hell is 
an enemy ; but the Scriptures teach, that it is to be 
destroyed. " O, hell, I will be thy destruction." 
And an apostle asks the triumphant question, " O 
death, where is thy sting ? O grave, (hades or hell) 
where is thy victory ?" 5. Death is also an enemy, 
and it is to be destroyed. We read, " He will swallow 
up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe tears 
from all faces." " There shall be no more death;" 
and the text asserts that, " The last enemy, death, 
shall be destroyed." But how can death be destroyed 
if millions of mankind are to be eternally the victims 
of death? In the language of Dr. Adam Clarke, 
"Death is conquered, hell disappointed, the devil 
confounded, and sin totally destroyed. Amen ! Hal- 
lelujah ! The Lord God, omnipotent reigneth ! He 
shall reign forever and ever !" 

Notwithstanding this distinct and emphatic testi- 
mony, it is contended by many people, with the Bible 
in their hands, that sin, pain, death, hell, and the 
devil, will eternally prey on countless multitudes of 
our race ; and if you intimate to them that those ene- 
mies to our peace and hope will be destroyed, they 
cry, delusion, imposture, infidelity. But I trust in 
God, and believe in the divine promise of the end of 
all evil, and the bringing in of "everlasting right- 
eousness." 

I also lectured in St. Joseph three evenings. At 
the close of one of my meetings, a preacher remark- 
ed, " You have been talking about the mercy of God, 
but will not God's wrath last as long as his mercy?" 
I replied, Without stopping to inquire what is meant 
by the wrath or anger of God, the Bible emphatically 
declares that " His anger endureth for a moment, but 
his mercy from everlasting to everlasting." Again, 
" He retaineth not his anger forever, because he de- 
lighteth in mercy." " I will not contend forever, 
neither will I he always wroth." Whv not ? " Be- 



IN THE WEST. 287 

cause the spirit would fail before me, and the souls 
which I have made." Can you give as good a reason 
why he will be always wroth, why he will contend 
forever, as he has why he will not ? Pain tends to 
destroy the sufferer. Let a person endure intense 
agony, and if medical aid does not relieve him, death 
will soon step in and deliver the sufferer. This is a 
merciful provision of our heavenly Father, to prevent 
very protracted suffering. The passage just cited 
teaches, that God will not permit any one to suffer 
long because that suffering would end his existence. 
" The spirit would fail before me, and the souls I 
have made." The soul could not endure endless 
wrath i it would fail, or cease to be. Jeremiah asks 
the question, "Will he reserve his anger forever? 
Will he keep it to the end ?" Eow observe the an- 
swer, "I am merciful saith the Lord, and will not 
keep anger forever." Again it is said, " For his anger 
endureth for a moment, weeping may endure for a 
night, but joy cometh in the morning." The proph- 
et Isaiah records, " In a little wrath I hid my face 
from thee for a moment ; but with everlasting kind- 
ness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord." 
Again it is said, " The Lord will not cast off forever, 
but though he cause grief, yet he will have compas- 
sion according to the multitude of his tender mer- 
cies." We read the following, " My mercy will keep 
forevermore." " For the Lord is good ; his mercy is 
everlasting." In one Psalm it is twenty-six times 
asserted that " The mercy of the Lord endureth for- 
ever." Hence it is said, " God is rich in mercy." 
" Plenteous in mercy." We also read of his mercy in 
the plural form. They are said to be " great," " man- 
ifold," and " over all his works." The apostle Paul 
believed in God's mercy, for he says, " For he hath 
concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have 

MEBCY ON ALL!" 

From all this precious testimony, I conclude that 



288 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

the " wrath of God," let it mean what it may, will 
continue but a moment, while his mercy is as endless 
as his own existence. The mother may forget the 
son of her love, but God will never forget the souls 
he has made. God is merciful to us to-day, he will 
be to-morrow, and forever. No circumstance or place 
can turn his love into hatred, his goodness into cruel- 
ty. His mercy blesses us in this world, and it will 
bless us in the world to come. Death cannot change 
the great love God has for the soul. 

Delivered a series of discourses in Kingston, on the 
following subjects: — "The Character of God" — "Man 
as he Is and is to Be" — "Rewards and Punish- 
ments"— "The Future Life" — "The Restitution." 
Our faith was new to the people, as a discourse in its 
defense had not been before delivered in the county. 
A Baptist minister replied to one of the sermons ; he 
had traveled ten miles to attend the meeting. He 
dwelt on the Rich Man and Lazarus. Denied it 
being a parable, and said it was a literal account of 
two men in this world, and world to come — one in 
heaven and the other in hell — and that their fate in 
eternity would be the fate of all mankind — part 
would ascend to heaven, and the balance would sink 
into the regions of eternal fire. 

I replied as follows : If the gentleman is correct in 
asserting that the text is to be understood literally, 
the following are facts, concerning the Hereafter : 1. 
Hell is a place, not a state or condition, but a place ; 
has a local habitation as well as a name ; has length, 
width, depth and highth ; in fact, is the penitentiary 
of the universe. Hell is called in the passage, " this 
place of torment." 2. Hell is a fiery furnace. The 
rich man says, " I am tormented in these flames" 
and begs for a drop of water to cool his tongue. 3. 
" This place of torment," this region of fire, is within 
speaking distance of heaven. Abraham and the rich 
man had a talk on some interesting topics. Heaven 



IN THE WEST. 289 

and hell, then, are neighbors. They are located side 
by side ; the division fence being 'a gulf. 4. If the 
fate of those two men is to be the' fate of all mankind, 
the world is to be divided. Parents and children, 
husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, friends and 
neighbors, are to be eternally separated — part to be 
in heaven, and part in hell. 

Now, I want to know if there could be any happi- 
ness in such a heaven. Could parents be happy see- 
ing their children in hell, as Abraham saw the u rich 
man?" Could children be happy, beholding the 
mother who bore them, and the father who loved 
them, writhing in the liquid flames, the cursed of 
God, and the sport of devils ? Could the wife behold 
the beloved partner of her life, suffering immortal 
agony in the fiery furnace, and rejoice and sing 
praise ? I read a few days since a Presbyterian Sab- 
bath School report, and the writer states, 'that "heav- 
en will be made up of remnants of ruined families." 
Nearly every family will be ruined — a remnant only 
will escape the dreadful wreck. To expect happiness 
in such a heaven, would be like expecting oranges to 
grow on icebergs. But if the gentleman is right in 
his interpretation of the passage before us, there is 
just such a heaven, and just such a hell ; and about 
every family will be irredeemably ruined, and eter- 
i nally divided. The nearest approach to such a shock- 
ing scene, is a band of naked and painted savages, 
laughing and dancing around the blazing stake, at 
which their victims are burning. There is your heav- . 
en, and your hell, on a small scale. 

But to prevent the denizens of heaven becoming 
insane at such a frightful spectacle, it is said, their 
memory will be destroyed ; they will not remember 
they ever had dear friends on earth. Yes, and they 
will have to have their eyes put out, for Abraham 
could see the rich man. They will also have to be as 
deaf as adders, else the cries, groans and lamentations 



290 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

of hell will ever be sounding in their ears. But it 
must be evident to every reflecting mind, that the 
text is not to be understood literally, but figuratively. 
It is doubtless a parable, a fable, and its moral is one 
of the most interesting and instructive lessons in the 
New Testament. 

I have not room here for the interpretation I gave 
the passage ; but the preacher, at the close, admitted 
that the view presented seemed reasonable, and was, 

Eerhaps, correct. A rum-seller here told me, that he 
ad been through religion, and was satisfied it was 
all humbug. I "told him that he would, perhaps, be 
improved if religion should go through him. 

I also lectured several times in Chillicotbe. My 
subjects were, " Sin"— "Death"— « Hell "— " Salva- 
tion." One man remarked to me, after hearing the 
discourse on Sin, 

" Jesus says, ' If you die in your sins, where God 
and Christ are, ye cannot come.' " 

" My friend, there is no such passage in the Bible." 

" Ah, but there is," said he ; "I have read it many 
a time." 

" But you are mistaken. The passage you quoted 
at, reads thus : l Then said Jesus again unto them, I 
go my way, and ye shall seek me, and ye shall die in 
your sins ; whither I go ye cannot come.' John viii. 
21. You perceive the true reading is very different 
from your version. These words were addressed to 
the Jews. A short time afterwards he had occasion 
to address his disciples ; and mark what he said to 
them. ' Little children, yet a little while I am with 
you. Ye shall seek me; and as I said to the Jews, 
"Whither I go ye cannot come, so say I unto you? 
John xiii. 33. Now, if Jesus when he told the Jews 
that they could not go to him, meant they should not 
inherit immortal blessedness, he must have meant 
the same when he addressed the disciples, for you 
perceive, he said precisely the same to them. But 



IN THE WEST. 291 

nothing of the kind was intended when he addressed 
friend or foe. He only meant in both cases, that they 
could not much longer follow him from place to place, 
as they had been in the habit of doing. He was 
about to depart from this world, and they would have 
to remain on earth. 

" Many of the Jews did die in their sins, but it does 
not thence follow that they are condemned to sin for- 
ever. Because a man sins this year it does not follow 
he will sin all his life-time. God is not so in love 
with sin that he will compel a soul to sin eternally 
because this life was mis-spent. What would be 
thought of a farmer who compelled a man to cut down 
every tree in his orchard because he had cut down one 
tree ? And will the God of wisdom and goodness, 
compel all to sin eternally who die sinners % If yea, 
then nearly all mankind will be forever lost, for near- 
ly all die sinners in some degree. The law is, ' Thou 
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul 
and strength, and thy neighbor as thyself.' Now, 
who obeys that law ? But few indeed, I fear. Near- 
ly all mankind, then, will be forever lost if there is 
no redemption for those who die sinners. 

"But the good Book teaches, that sin will not 
debase the soul always ; but rather that there is to 
be ' an end of sin.' Dan. ix. Transferring all sin and 
all sinners to hell would not exactly be destroying sin 
nor converting sinners to God. It would simply be 
removing sin and sinners to another locality — that is 
ail. Transporting all the drunkards from St. Louis 
to Chicago, would not be destroying intemperance. 
It would only be removing the curse from one place 
to another — nothing more. But when the Bible 
talks about sin being destroyed, making an end of 
sin, it means just what it says. It does not mean 
that it will not be destroyed, will nofiend its reign." 

From Chillicothe I journeyed to Dewitt. I well 
remember of travelino; that road at another time. It 



292 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

was one of the hottest days of summer, and I rode 
on horseback, from early morn till late at night, in 
the blazing sun, without a particle of food. About 
mid-day, I called at a house to get a drink of water, 
and the good woman conducted me to the back porch 
where were two buckets of ice and water — one buck- 
et for the white folks, and the other for the negroes, 
and- told me to keep myself to the refreshing con- 
tents of the former. Never shall I forget that blessed 
bucket, and its thrice blessed treasure. I thought of 
the spring in the desert, gushing forth its cooling 
draught ; of 

"The old oaken bucket, 
The moss covered bucket, 
, The iron bound backet, 

That hung in the well," 

And of Jesus resting, as I was resting, at the Samari- 
tan well. 

After traveling about one week- more, I reached 
home after a long absence ; having delivered seventy- 
live discourses, and rode some seven hundred miles — 
all on horseback. 






IN THE WEST. 293 

CHAPTER XVII. 



The Kebellion Commenced — What Senator Douglas Said — Defend- 
ers of our Country — Camp Jackson — Rebel Flags — Great Expec- 
tations — Subscribers Lost — Money Lost — All but Two of the 
Religious Journals Stopped — Could do but Little in Missouri — 
Society in St. Louis — G- S. Weaver Left — The Unitarian Socie- 
ty — Published Pamphlet on Water Baptism — Discussion with 
B. H. Smith — Extracts from the Discussion. 

While sitting at the breakfast-table, at a boarding- 
house in St. Louis, on the morning of the 14th of 
April, 1861, it was announced through the morning 
paper, that the South Carolinians had fired on Fort 
Sumter. I remarked, "The rebels will rue that trait- 
orous deed." The landlady took fire, and with eyes 
darting vengeance, said, " We are Southrons." " If 
you are Southrons you need not be rebels." The 
whole city was wild with excitement. Americans 
had fired on their own flag, civil war was inaugura- 
ted ; but how far it would extend, and what would be 
the result, were problems the wisest could not solve. 
Would the whole land be desolated ? Would treason, 
with fire and sword, march through the length and 
breadth of the country, scattering death and destruc- 
tion, where peace, harmony and happiness had so 
long prevailed ? Was the sun of the Great Republic 
about to set, and set in blood, fire and desolation ? 
Was our glorious Union about to be rent asunder by 
profane hands? Where would the division end? 
Would it be torn in two, twenty, or thirty parts? 
No wonder loyal men and women were excited and 
alarmed. 

A day or two after the announcement of that insane 
act of South Carolina, I heard a man on Fourth street 
read a private dispatch he had just received from 



294 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

Senator Douglas at "Washington, " Tell my friends 
they must sustain the government" It made my 
heart leap for joy, and I exclaimed to a by-stander, 

" God bless Douglas." " God d him," said an 

enraged " Southron." In a few days more, President 
Lincoln's call for volunteers was published ; and then 
the drum began to beat ; and the farmers, mechanics, 
merchants, doctors, lawyers, preachers, all over the 
land, left their homes and enrolled themselves, " De- 
fenders of our Country." And many a prayer 
went up to heaven for their protection and success. 
"When General Lyon, a few weeks after, marched live 
thousand loyal soldiers through the city and captured 
" Camp Jackson," the union portion of the popula- 
tion were delighted, but the rebels were dismayed. 
For weeks a rebel flag had been hanging over a build- 
ing on the corner of Pine and Fifth streets, the head- 
quarters of treason, and several leading papers in the 
city working to get Missouri out of the Union. These 
treason plotters, north and south, east and west, had 
great expectations. One of them said to me, 

" "We shall succeed. The South will sustain itself. 
The North will not light. And having the mouth of 
the Mississippi river, the South will compel the West- 
ern States to join them ; we shall have a strong and 
magnificent government, and the Eastern States may 
go to destruction for ought we care." 

I replied : " Three or four years of war will open 
your eyes, if you shall have any then to open, with 
regard to the JSTorth and the South. Do not delude 
yourself with the fancy, that the northern people 
will not light for the right / you will find that they 
will light, and as men hardly ever before did fight. 
It is true they greatly prefer the arts of peace ; but 
when their country is in danger, the country for 
which their fathers bled and died, you will find that 
the spirit of '76 is not degenerated. You do not 
know what you are about ; you are insane. You are 



IN THE WEST. 295 

disturbing a lion, and by and by he will spring to his 
feet and crush you to death." 

But after the Camp Jackson affair, and the citizens 
were taught by several bloody lessons, to let the sol- 
diers pass through the streets undisturbed, we had 
peace and safety in St. Louis. The rebel element 
was strong, but it was harmless amid a preponderance 
of loyalty, supported by an army of the " boys in 
blue." But in Missouri, outside of St. Louis, with 
the exception of here and there a place where soldiers 
were stationed, there was but little peace, or safety. 

I had nearly three thousand subscribers in Missouri, 
and the Southern States, when the war commenced, 
and I lost all the Southern, and nearly all the Mis- 
souri subscribers, by the mails being discontinued, 
and by the general confusion that reigned. My loss 
was, at least, five thousand dollars. Three religious 
periodicals — Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian — 
were discontinued at the beginning of the strife. The 
former was suppressed by General Lyon, for its trea- 
sonable utterances. The Magazine and the Central 
Christian Advocate, were the only religious journals 
that survived the outbreak. The Magazine was pret- 
ty badly crippled, and but for the aid it received from 
the loyal states, it would havp succumbed. 

I traveled and preached but little in Missouri dur- 
ing the war. Most of the men were in the army, 
north or south ; some left the state, and the few who 
remained did not think much about religion. The 
society in St. Louis went to the shades. Mr. Weaver 
left the year before the war, and located in Lawrence, 
Mass., where he has been remarkably successful. He 
is a noble man, and an excellent pastor and preacher. 
Before a successor to him could be obtained, the war 
broke out, and that killed the society. Our cause 
was always feeble in St. Louis. The Unitarian socie- 
ty was old, numerous, well established, and rich ; but 
instead of aiding us by it sympathy and co-operation, 



296 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

it stood off as cold as an iceberg. I hear much of the 
love Unitarians bear for us, but have never seen 
much evidence of their love. They doubtless would 
like to have Unitarians and Universalists unite, but it 
must be like the marriage of man and woman, accord- 
ing to Blackstone, the twain must be one, and that 
one, Unitarian. We are fine fellows if we will allow 
ourselves to be swallowed, head and heels, without 
kicking. 

About this time, I published a pamphlet entitled 
" Seventy-two Reasons why Salvation is not by Wa- 
ter Baptism." The Reformers, or Campbellites, a 
numerous and growing sect in the West and South, 
contend, as is well known, that immersion in water is 
a condition of salvation. This pamphlet is designed 
to refute that strange notion. The following is the 
twenty-eighth " Reason " : 

" Then said Peter unto them, Repent, and be bap- 
tized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, 
for the remission of sins ; 'and ye shall receive the 
gift of the Holy Ghost." Acts ii. 38. 

If " baptized " here refers to water baptism, it is 
the only place in the New Testament where it is con- 
nected with " remission of sin." And shall all that 
Christ and his apostles have said about sin being 
removed by grace, hope, faith, repentance, be set 
aside, because in one instance baptism and remission 
of sins are mentioned in connection with each other? 
But even in this passage Peter tells his hearers to 
repent " for the remission of sins," and there is com- 
mon sense in that exhortation. Repentance means to 
reform, to cease doing evil and learn to do well, and 
when that is done, of course, our sins are remitted. 
If a drunkard repents, reforms, the sin of intemper- 
ance is remitted, and so of all other sins — when we 
abandon them, they abandon us. If we resist the 
devil he will flee from us. That is what forgiveness, 
pardon, and remission of sin means. And that is 



TN THE WEST. 297 

what Peter means in the above words, as is evident 
from his address to the people in Acts iii. 19. " Ee- 
pent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins 
may be blotted out." Here baptism is left out, clear- 
ly showing that the author, in the other place, did not 
mean that water puts away sin. The same is taught 
by Jesus. " And that repentance and remission of 
sins should be preached in his name among all 
nations, beginning at Jerusalem." Luke xxiv. 47. 
Nothing about water. The apostle Paul teaches the 
same truth. "Whom God hath sent forth to be a 
propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare 
his righteousness, for the remission of sins." Rom. 
iii. 25. Here again baptism has no credit for remit- 
ting sin ; it is done through faith. Again this apostle 
says, "This is the covenant that I will make with 
them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my 
law into their hearts, and in their minds I will write 
them : and their sins and iniquities will I remember 
no more. Now where remission of these is, there is 
no more offering for sin." Heb. x. 16, 17, 18. Of 
course, when the law of God reigns supreme in men's 
hearts, their sins are remitted, whether they have 
been baptized or not. It is the law of love that ban- 
ishes sin, not water baptism. It is evident from the 
above testimony, that water baptism has nothing to 
do in putting away sin, and that the Reformers have 
departed far from the truth in their notions about the 
saving influence of water baptism. 

And here is another error they commit. They are 
forever telling us that the kingdom of God was set 
up on "the day of Pentecost." Their notion runs 
about thus — Jesus Christ set up his kingdom on 
"the day of Pentecost." The key thereof being 
given to Peter, he unlocked it on that occasion, and 
commenced baptizing men and women into the king- 
dom. Baptism is the door. Nut a living man, wo- 
man, or child was inside the door when Peter opened 



298 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

it. On this theological curiosity we have a few 
words to offer. 1. ¥e have not a particle of evi- 
dence that the kingdom of God was set up on that 
occasion. Peter, who was the sole speaker, said not 
one word about the kingdom of God, not one word 
about its keys, not one word about unlocking it, not 
one word about baptism being the door into the king- 
dom, not one word about immersing anybody into it. 
If the august kingdom of the living God was really 
set up, opened, dedicated, and Jesus commenced his 
reign on " the day of -Pentecost," it is very remark- 
able that there is not one word said about any of 
these important matters by the great apostle. Our 
Reformers draw largely on their imagination for 
their facts when they expatiate about Pentecost. 2. 
"Water baptism is the door into the kingdom, is it ? 
The kingdom, then, which is purely a spiritual insti- 
tution, has a material door ! What an idea ! And it 
was reserved for the nineteenth century to make that 
wonderful discovery. 3. If our friends are right in 
their curious notions, we should like to be informed 
how the first one got into the kingdom. When Peter 
opened it not a soul was inside, and no one could get 
in without being baptized. Now, we should like to 
have one of their wise men tell us how the first one 
got inside. Did Peter baptize him in ? But Peter 
was an "outsider." And will our friends pretend 
that one out of the kingdom could lawfully initiate 
one into it? This, though, must have been done, or 
some one must have slipped inside without immer- 
sion, and then went to work in good earnest putting 
others through the watery door into the spiritual 
kingdom. 4. If our friends are right, not one of the 
twelve apostles entered the kingdom of God, for they 
were not baptized before, at, or after Pentecost. Not 
even Mathias, who was chosen after the resurrection 
of Christ, was baptized. They did not enter through 
this singular door. How then can they be saved % 



IN THE WEST. 299 

Soon after this pamphlet appeared, I made arrange- 
ments with B. EL Smith, pastor of the Reformers' 
church in St. Louis, to have a discussion in the Mag- 
azine on the efficacy of water baptism. He proposed 
affirming that " Water Baptism is a Condition of Sal- 
vation." He was to write twelve letters. He wrote 
seven and then laid aside his pen, and I could never 
induce him to write any more. The following is part 
of my reply to his first letter : 

You advocate a proposition that consigns nearly all 
mankind to hopeless ruin. You affirm that water 
baptism is a condition of salvation, and consequently 
that there is not, and cannot be, any salvation without 
immersion in water. Your brethren, generally, adopt 
the same theory. Rev. Alexander Campbell, well 
known to be a prominent man in your fraternity, dis- 
tinctly avows your position. Speaking of the " act of 
faith " which he declares to be immersion in w T ater, he 
says, " Whatever the art of faith may be, it necessari- 
ly becomes the line of demarkation between the two 
states before described. On this side, and on the other 
side, mankind are in quite different states. On one 
side they are pardoned, justified, sanctified, reconcil- 
ed, adopted and saved : and on the other, they are in 
a state of condemnation. This act is sometimes called 
immersion, regeneration, conversion." {Christian Sys- 
tem, page 193.) This " act of faith," you see, is im- 
mersion in water, and is called " regeneration," and 
" conversion." On one side, that is, all who are im- 
mersed, are " saved, pardoned, justified, sanctified, 
reconciled, adopted," but those on the other side, that 
is, not immersed in water, are condemned, lost, un- 
pardoned, unsanctified, etc. In one word, immersion 
is the line between heaven and hell, between the 
saved and the damned, between those God loves and 
those he hates. On page 197, he says that " Immer- 
sion is inseparably connected with the remission of 
sins," — "no person was said to be converted until he 



300 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

was immersed ; and all persons who were immersed, 
were said to be converted." The same saving power 
is attached to immersion all through Mr. Campbell's 
book. But, sir, reason, common sense, common jus- 
tice, and every thing else that even squints toward 
the true and right, condemn such a theory. But as 
you appeal to the New Testament to sustain your 
proposition, I trust I can show you misunderstand its 
letter and spirit. 

Your doctrine of the purifying power of water bap- 
tism, is rank Heathenism. The Pagans, publicly and 
privately, used lustral water, which they thought had 
the virtue of purifying the soul, and of remitting the 
punishment of sins. "The Indians," writes father 
Jesuit Bonchet, a missionary to India, "say that in 
bathing — that is, immersing — in certain rivers, sins 
are entirely remitted ; and that their mysterious wa- 
ters, wash not only the bodies, but also purify the 
souls in an admirable manner." This testimony, 
Chateaubriand adds, is confirmed by the " Memoirs of 
the English Society of Calcutta." The waters of the' 
Ganges are supposed by the Hindoos, to purify those 
who are immersed in them. This sounds very much 
like your proposition. The Catholics, like yourself, 
have incorporated this item of Heathenism into their 
faith. Their General Catechism treats on baptism 
thus : 

"<?. What is baptism? 

A. A sacrament which cleanses from original sin, 
makes us christians and children of God ; and heirs 
to the kingdom of heaven. 

Q. Does baptism also remit the actual sins commit- 
ted before it ? 

A. Yes ; and all the punishment due them. 

Q. Is baptism necessary to salvation ? 

A. Yes ; without it, we cannot enter the kingdom 
of God." 

You agree exactly with the Komish Church. Both 



IN THE WEST. 301 

you and that church contend, that baptism cleanses 
the soul, makes us christians, children of God, heirs 
of heaven. You say, that "baptism is a condition of 
salvation," and the Pope says, " baptism is necessary 
to salvation." The Pagans call the baptismal water, 
" lustral water ;" the Catholics, " holy water," and 
your people, "regenerating water." Mr. Campbell 
says, "JSTo one acquainted with Peter's style, will 
think it strange that Paul represents as saved, cleans- 
ed, or sanctified by water — may not he then call that 
water, of which a person is born again, the water, or 
bath of regeneration? (Christian System, page 265.) 
You will observe that you, the Catholics and Pagans, • 
are beautifully harmonious concerning the saving 
power of water. 

The savages of the West, appear to be strictly Or- 
thodox in their notions concerning the regenerating 
influence of water. In the early settlement of the 
West, two whites were captured by a band of Indi- 
ans ; and when on the bank of the Ohio, they were 
led into the river and immersed by their savage cap- 
tors. The chief then informed his prisoners, that this 
immersion had changed their characters — that they 
were no longer pale faces, but Indians, and were 
members of the tribe. We smile at the red man's 
absurdity, but let us be careful and not be equally ab- 
surd. This is the first account we have of a western 
stream being deemed a " bath of regeneration ;" but 
since then another people have christened all the riv- 
ers, creeks and ponds in the West, " baths of regen- 
erations." 

In the course of the correspondence, I offered the 
following objections to his theory : 

1. " Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the 
covenant which God made 'with our fathers, saying 
unto Abraham, and in thy seed shall all the kindreds 
of the earth be blessed. Unto you first, God having 
raised up his Son, Jesus, sent him to bless you, in 



302 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

turning every one of you from his iniquities." Acts 
iii. 25, 26. This is from Peter's sermon, delivered on 
Solomon's porch, and from which you have quoted in 
your argument. Your position is, that salvation is 
only for those who are immersed, and as but a very 
small part of mankind are immersed, but a small part 
of mankind with be blessed with salvation. But the 
above passage promises blessedness to " all the kin- 
dreds of the earth," and we are informed what that 
blessing is — "Turning away every one of you from 
his iniquities?' 1 That is the blessing, and it is prom- 
ised to all mankind. Mr. Campbell, in the book from 
which I have before quoted, page 135, admits the uni- 
versality of the promise, and says that the " blessing 
is spiritual and eternal." How he or you can restrict 
salvation to the few who are immersed, with this pas- 
sage before your eyes, and this admission, is a mys- 
tery. 

2. If you are correct, but a small portion of man- 
kind will be saved — only those who are immersed in 
water. Every child, dying in childhood, e^ery idiot, 
every Jew, every Mohammedan, every Pagan, every 
Catholic, every Episcopalian, every Methodist, every 
Presbyterian, must go to hell, if you are right. You 
deny salvation to every body who is not baptized. If 
you are correct, hell will be crowded, and heaven 
almost empty. My God ! what a theory ! 

3. According to your proposition, a person may 
spent three score years and ten in crime of the black- 
est dye; may trample under foot the laws of both 
God and man, and receive little or no punishment in 
this world ; and by being immersed the last hour of 
his wicked life, his sins are all washed away, and he 
occupy as high a seat in heaven as St. John or St. 
Paul. Now, the Bible teaches that every transgres- 
sion and disobedience shall receive a just recompense 
of reward. (Heb. ii. 2.) " He that doeth wrong shall 
receive for the wrong which he hath done ; and there 



m THE WEST. 303 

is no respect of persons." Col. iii. 25. Your theory 
makes a " respect of persons ;" it says that the im- 
mersed " shall not receive for the wrong which they 
have done," but that wrath and vengeance will be 
meted out forever and ever on the unimmersed. 
" For the Son of man shall come in the glory of the 
Father with his angels ; and then shall he reward 
every man according to his works." Matt. xvi. 27. 
Mr. Smith affirms, that heaven will render to the un- 
immersed "according to their works," but the im- 
mersed will be saved from the just punishment of 
their sins. " For we must all appear before the judg- 
ment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the 
things done in his body, according to that he hath 
done, whether good or bad." 2 Cor. v. 10. Mr. 
Smith denies that God will punish the immersed for 
the wicked deeds they have done. In fact, his theory 
asserts that God will not punish them at all, but s'aves 
them from the penalty of their sins. This, also, is a 
very serious objection to your proposition, and I hope 
it will receive from you something besides a laugh. 

4. A wretch murders in cold blood a thousand un- 
baptized, good men, and, according to your proposi- 
tion, not one of them can be saved — they die un- 
washed of their sins and must be lost. As soon as 
he has killed their bodies, and sent their souls to hell, 
he attends Mr. Smith's meetings, on Olive street, list- 
tens to one of his excellent exhortations to come for- 
ward and be immersed into the fold of God. He 
gives you his bloody hand, makes the good confes- 
sion, and is immersed at the levee — the very spot 
where he murdered the men, and some of their dead 
bodies are still at his feet. His sins are all forgiven, 
his soul is pure, and he is an heir of heaven. But in 
going back to the sanctuary, he stumbles over one 
of the dead bodies of his victims, falls to the ground 
and breaks his neck. He complied with the " condi- 
tions of salvation," and his sanctified soul is wafted 



304 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

right to heaven. But the thousand victims of his 
wickedness, not having been immersed, although they 
were righteous men, are lost forever. According to 
Mr. Smith's theory, just such a series of events may 
occur. One man may kill a thousand men ; their 
souls may all go to hell ; and the murderer, by faith 
and immersion, may be saved from all the conse- 
quences of deeds that have sent thousands to perdi- 
tion. The murdered in hell, and the murderer in. 
heaven. The outrage and injustice of this is a formi- 
dable objection to your proposition. Admit this is an 
extreme case ; but I want to know how you will dis- 
pose of it ? 

[A case much like this occurred in St. Louis soon 
after this was written. A condemned murderer " be- 
lieved," and was marched from his cell to the Olive 
Street church, and was there immersed, and then 
marched to the gallows, via the prison, and if Mr. 
Smith is right, thence to heaven, while his victim 
likely was sent to hell.] 

5. One sin may ruin a soul forever without im- 
mersion, but a million sins are harmless if followed by 
immersion. To illustrate : a man commits one sin, 
and dies without being immersed. You say, he can- 
not be saved, for immersion is a condition of salvation. 
Another commits a million of sins, and is immersed 
immediately after committing the last one, and, hav- 
ing complied with the conditions of salvation, he is 
saved. Can you see any equity in this? Even if it 
is possible for a child, dying ere it attains the age of 
accountability to be saved, suppose it lives to commit 
one sin, and dies without being immersed, according 
to Mr. Smith, it cannot be saved. It sinned once and 
died without immersion, died with that sin unforgiven, 
and consequently it cannot be saved. 

6. A serious objection to Mr. Smith's view of bap- 
tism, is its arbitrary character. There is naturally no 
power in water, or immersion in water, to cleanse the 



J* THE WEST. 305 

soul ; and making its salvation depend on the body 
being dipped in water, sets aside all natural and spir- 
itual" laws. All God's commands, in the New Testa- 
ment, are based in sound philosophy, and are in per- 
fect harmony with all nature ; nothing is arbitrary ; 
all is natural and philosophical. But the doctrine of 
salvation by immersing the body in water, is in direct 
variance with God's method of government, and 
therefore must be false. 

7. If Mr. Smith is right, a wonderful miracle is 
wrought whenever he or his brethren immerse a man 
or woman in water. Mr. Campbell says, " I am bold 
to affirm that every one of them who, in the belief of 
which the apostle spoke, was immersed did, in the 
very instant in which he was put under the water, 
receive the forgiveness of his sins." (Christian .Bap- 
tist, pages 416, 417.) The believer is cnrsed with all 
his sins, exposed to the wrath of God and the flames 
of hell, till the very instant he is put under water. 
When under the water his sins are all forgiven, his 
soul is purified, his nature is changed, God becomes 
his friend, and the door of heaven is opened to him. 
All this takes place during the brief time he is under 
the water. What a miracle ! There is nothing in the 
catalogue of miracles equal to it. And then such 
wonderful miracles are being wrought day and night 
in every stream and pond in the land. If there is 
any truth is this theory, Mr. Smith has performed far 
more miracles than Jesus Christ ever did. His breth- 
ren often laugh at the Methodists, for their notions 
about the operations of the spirit, and tell them they 
suppose a miracle is wrought, whenever a soul is con- 
verted ; but Mr. Smith and his friends believe in 
greater wonders than the Methodists do, and those 
too that are not half as reasonable and philosophical. 

8. This theory suspends salvation on the will and 
act of another man. To illustrate : Mr. Smith con- 
vinces one of his hearers of the truth of the gospel, 



306 TWENTY-FIVE YEABS 

and he makes application to be immersed that his sins 
may be pardoned. Mr. Smith does not doubt his 
faith, but refuses to immerse him — has an old grudge 
against him — and the man dies the next day, dies 
unforgiven, and enters into the presence of his God 
with all his sins on his soul. Now, Mr. Smith, by 
not doing his duty, has sent that man to hell. It may 
be said, that Mr. Smith will be sent there too for this 
sin of omission ; but that would not help the poor 
man who went there before him. If this doctrine is 
correct, thousands may be lost by others refusing to 
immerse them. Again : a son or a daughter becomes 
a penitent believer, and desires to be immersed, but 
the father forbids it, and the youth dies unimmersed, 
and consequently goes to perdition. It may be re- 
plied, that God does not require impossibilities, and 
in those cases he will take the will for the deed. But 
Mr. Smith affirms, there is no salvation without bap- 
tism. If Mr. Smith is right, all such unfortunate per- 
sons are lost. 

9. This system enjoins an impossibility, and then 
damns a man for not performing it. On the desert a 
man becomes a penitent believer, but dies ere he can 
reach water in which to be immersed. A traveler in 
the arctic regions makes the good confession, but 
freezes to death before he can melt water enough to 
be dipped in. All such souls are lost, for Mr. Smith 
and Mr. Campbell tell us, there is no salvation on the 
desert, nor in the polar regions, without immersion. 
And this is called the glorious gospel of the blessed 
God ! A solitary traveler in an uninhabited region, 
exclaims from the heart, " I believe that Jesus Christ 
is the Son of God," and wills to be immersed ; but he 
is in a bad fix. There is no one within an hundred 
miles to immerse him, and he cannot immerse him- 
self. He makes a desperate effort to find somebody 
to immerse him, as the salvation of his soul depends 
on his success. But his effort is fruitless, his exertion 



IN THE WEST. 307 

brings on a fever, and lie dies alone on the desert. 
According to Mr. Smith, he goes into the other world 
a sinner, and as there is no water there to be immers- 
ed in, he must be immersed in hell-fire, not for a mo- 
ment, but for all eternity. 

10. It encourages superstition by attaching an ex- 
travagant importance to immersion. It elevates an 
ordinance far above every Christian virtue; above 
faith, hope, charity, love. In fact, it makes almost 
a god of water baptism. 

11. Mr. Smith's superstitious notions of baptism 
lead directly to infant baptism — are the father and 
mother of infant baptism. Speaking of the origin of 
infant baptism, the learned historian and critic, Sal- 
masius, says, "An opinion prevailed that no one 
could be saved without being baptized, and for that 
reason the custom arose of baptizing infants." Pro- 
fessor Hahn testifies to the same: "Infant baptism 
arose from false views of original sin, and of the mag- 
ical power of consecrated water." {Prof. Hahrts The- 
ology, page 556.) Another noted critic says: "The 
immediate occasion of infant baptism it cannot be 
denied was its extravagant ideas of its necessity to 
salvation." {Dressier* s Doctrine of the Sacrament of 
JBaptism.) 

It is evident, then, that Mr. Smith's idea of water 
baptism is the legitimate parent of infant baptism; 
and it is a mystery to me that he and his brethren do 
not baptize infants to save their souls. According to 
Mr. Campbell they need salvation. Hear him : "Our 
nature was corrupted by the fall of Adam before it 
was transmitted to us ; and hence the hereditary im- 
becility to do good, and that proneness to do evil, so 
universally apparent in all human beings. All inherit 
a fallen, consequently a sinful nature." {Christian 
System, pages 28, 29.) Now, as there is no salvation 
without baptism, why not baptize infants? Will it 
not save httle sinners as well as large ones ? It would 



308 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

not astonish me to learn that Mr. Smith is immersing 
infants. I wonder he has not been doing it these 
many years. 

12. According to my friend's theology, a man may 
be full of faith, and love, and good works, but if he 
has not been immersed in water he is in a lost and 
ruined condition, and on the broad road to everlasting 
destruction. His faith, and love, and good works, 
avail nothing without immersion. Stating such a 
proposition in simple language is enough to condemn 
it. 

13. This theory is .worse than infidelity. Thomas 
Paine, the noted infidel, says, "I believe that relig- 
ious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and 
endeavoring to make our fellow creatures happy." 
(Age of Reason, page 6.) According to the theory in 
question, our Creator has no respect for these relig- 
ious duties, unless we are immersed in water. He 
will neither bless us with salvation in time or eternity, 
if we religiously perform all these duties, unless we 
are immersed. With all due respect to my friend, I 
must say, that of the two systems, Paine's is the best, 
as far, at least, as religious duties are concerned. M.j 
correspondent will doubtless reply, that he believes in 
the duties Paine names, and urges his fellow men to 
observe them. No doubt of it ; but then he spoils his 
faith and exhortation, by telling his hearers, that the 
observing of them will avail nothing in the way of 
salvation without immersion in water. 

14. This theory is worse than Calvinism. With all 
its cruelty and savagism, it does not make our salva- 
tion depend on immersion in water, whether there is 
any water to be immersed in or not, whether our 
health will admit of immersion or not ; whether we 
can find one qualified to immerse or not, and whether 
if we nod such an one he will accommodate us or not. 

15. We have not a particle of evidence that one of 
the twelve disciples of our Lord was immersed. Mat- 



IN THE WEST. 309 

t'hew, one of the number, thus records the call and 
acceptance of several of that chosen band. " And 
Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two breth- 
ren, Simon and Peter, and Andrew his brother, cast- 
ing a net into the sea : for they were fishers. And 
he said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you 
fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets 
and followed him. And going on from thence he 
saw two other brethren, James the son of Zebedee, 
and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their 
father, mending their nets ; and he called them. 
And they immediately left the ship and their father, 
and followed him." Matt. iv. 18-22. In the tenth 
chapter we are informed of the other disciples being 
called. There is not the slightest intimation in the 
[New Testament that one of the disciples was immers- 
ed when they were chosen by the Master, or at any 
subsequent time. 

16: My friend maintains, that immersion is the door 
to discipleship, to the kingdom, to salvation, pardon, 
heaven. If he is, right, is it not remarkable that there 
is not a particle of evidence, that one of our Lord's 
disciples entered that door? When some of them 
were called, they were on the shore of the sea, but 
not ' a word is recorded of their being immersed to 
prepare them for -their mission. Never afterward 
did they speak "or write of being immersed, nor did 
any others refer to it. The unavoidable inference is, 
that they were not baptized in water, and so accord- 
ing to Mr. Smith, their sins were never forgiven, they 
were not saved, never members of the kingdom of 
God. But let Mr. Smith and his friends ponder well 
the fact, that men in those days could be disciples of 
Jesus without immersion. Why not now % 

IT. This theory is immoral in its influence, as it 
affirms that the unimmersed are under no obligation 
to do any thing which implies spiritual life. The fol- 
lowing are Mr. Campbell's remarkable words : " No 



310 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

prayers, songs of praise, no acts of devotion in the 
new economy, are enjoined on the unbaptized." 
{Christian Baptist, page 439.) If Mr. Campbell is 
right, it is a great sin for any one who has not been 
immersed in water to perform any of thesfy acts. 
Ministers, then, of all denominations, except immer- 
sionists and their congregations, spend each returning 
Sabbath, not in serving God, but in open rebellion 
against him. Christians, all over the world, morning, 
noon and evening, in offering their prayers to God, 
and singing his praise, are guilty of heinous sins. 
They do what they have no right to do. Their pray- 
ers, their songs, and all their devotions, are so many 
sins against heaven, and for which, by and by, they 
will be turned into hell. Such teachings can have no 
other than an immoral influence. 

18. On page 204, of ''Christian System," Mr. 
Campbell has the following curious remark: "And 
we know so much of human nature as to say, that he 
that imagines himself pardoned, will feel as happy as 
he that really is so." This is in reply to an objection, 
that according to his theory, no one can be saved, 
pardoned, without immersion in water. His reply is, 
that there is no evidence such can be saved ; but they 
can imagine themselves saved, pardoned ; can fool 
themselves into the idea that they are pardoned, yet 
full of sin all the time, and will be just as happy as 
they would be if their sins were all forgiven, and 
their souls pure as the angels. Where he got his 
mental philosophy I know not, but surely not from 
the Bible. According to this wisdom, a man, drunk 
and wallowing in the gutter, if he imagines himself a 
sober man and virtuous citizen, " will feel as happy 
as he that really is so." Or a murderer, with inno- 
cent blood on his hands, and murder in his heart, if 
he only imagines he is innocent, " will feel as happy 
as he that really is so." All such absurd notions 
proceed from the position of my friend, that there is 



IN THE WEST. 311 

no salvation, no forgiveness, without immersion in 
water. 

19. The Scriptures teach that all sin is to be forgiv- 
en. "All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of 
men." "Every plant which my heavenly Father 
hath not planted, shall be rooted up." The angel 
told Joseph, " Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he 
shall save his people from their sins." Matt. i. 21. 
John, the forerunner of Jesus, pointed to him and 
said, " Behold the Lamb of God, which takcth away 
the sin of the world." John i. 29. Many more pas- 
sages might be cited, showing that all sin is to be for- 
given, abolished, taken away, made an end of. Now, 
my friend's theory is, that no sin can be forgiven 
without the aid of water baptism. But only a small 
portion of mankind are immersed, and therefore, if he 
is right, all those scriptures which teach the extinction 
of sin, are so many mistakes. If all sin is to be for- 
given, Mr. Smith is mistaken. 

20. " And we have seen, and do testify, that the 
Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world." 
1 John iv. 14. The men of Samaria, after hearing 
Jesus speak of his mission, went away and said, " We 
have heard him ourselves and know that this is the 
Christ, the Savior of the world." John iv. 42. If 
Christ was sent by the Father to save the world, and 
if he saves only the few who are immersed in water, 
instead of saving the world, he will save bir a very 
small pari of it ; instead of doing his Father's busi- 
ness, he will leave most of it undone. How can you 
reconcile these precious promises with your very par- 
tial salvation ? 

21. " Now is the judgment of this world ; now shall 
the prince of this world be cast out, and I, if I be 
lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to me." 
John xii. 31, 32. According to my friend, we can go 
to Christ only through im?nersion, and as but a small 
part of all men are immersed, the conclusion is, that 



812 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

only a small part of mankind can go to Christ. But 
this conclusion from Mr. Smith's premises contradicts 
the Savior. Jesus says, he will draw all men to him. 
It is clear that my "friend's theory contradicts the 
letter and spirit of the New Testament. 

22. " As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall 
all be made alive." 1 Cor. xv. 22. "When Jesus 
shall have made an end of sin, saved the world, 
drawn all men to him, then will all who die in Adam 
be in Christ. But Mr. Smith contends that no one 
can get into Christ, save by immersion. That is a 
fundamental point with him; but as ultimately all 
men are to be in Christ, he must be mistaken. Try, 
my friend, to reconcile your faith with that glorious 
passage. Nearly all mankind die without being wa- 
ter-immersed into Christ. All children, idiots, Jews, 
Pagans, Catholics, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Meth- 
odists, Lutherans, Friend Quakers, Unitarians, Uni- 
versalists, and hosts of other Christians, live and die 
without being immersed into Christ, and it follows 
from your proposition, they never can be in Christ ; 
never' can be saved from their sins. None of these, 
you assert, have their sins forgiven in this world. 
Pray, tell what will become of us all? You have 
evaded this question long enough. I have urged you 
to let us sinners know what is to be our fate beyond 
the grave. We know what is the condition of all 
these classes in this world, according to Mr. Smith's 
theory — they are all sinners, all condemned, all out 
of Christ, all out of the kingdom, children of the 
devil, without God and without hope in the world. 
Now, it surely is not impertinent to insist that Mr. 
Smith tell us, plainly and without equivocation, what 
is to be the doom of these countless millions beyond 
the grave. I charge his system with involving the 
endless sinfulness and wretchedness of all these mul- 
titudes of Adam's race. If I am mistaken, let him 
show wherein I am. Let us have no more of this 



IN THE WEST. 313 

dodging. It looks bad, very bad, on the part of my 
friend, to evade this point as he has done. 

23. The apostle Paul writes, " Christ sent me not 
to baptize, but to preach the gospel." 1 Cor. i. 17. 
This is surely a remarkable declaration, if water bap- 
tism is a soul-saving institution. If he had believed 
that water baptism is a condition of salvation, would 
he have said he was not sent to baptize ? According 
to Mr. Smith's understanding, where Paul speaks 
about " obeying the gospel," he means baptism. If 
Mr. Smith is right, Paul was not sent to induce men 
to obey the gospel. Again : Paul labored for the con- 
version of souls, and Mr. Smith says, conversion is 
baptism. Then the apostle was not sent to be instru- 
mental in converting men. If the gentleman is cor- 
rect, the great apostle was not sent to labor for men's 
salvation, or their conversion, or to induce them to 
obey the gospel. This all follows, if water baptism is 
a condition of salvation, for Paul declares, that he was 
not sent to baptize; that is, was not sent to do the 
very thing that must be done to insure salvation. 
This declaration of the apostle, that he was not sent 
to baptize, is a perfect refutation of Mr. Smith's prop- 
osition, that water baptism is a condition of salvation. 
24 In looking over Mr. Campbell's "Christian 
System," page 60, I find the following wonderous 
things, said to be consummated by dipping a man or 
woman in water : " The change which is consummat- 
ed by immersion,. is sometimes called in sacred style, 
' being quickened,' ' made alive,' ' passed from death 
to life,' ' being born again,' ' having risen with Christ,' 
' ' turning to the Lord,' ' being enlightened,' ' conver- 
sion,' 'reconciliation,' 'repentance unto life.'" In 
another place, he asserts the subject comes out of the 
water as " pure as an angel." But mark, no one can 
be thus purified, quickened, made alive, etc., without 
water baptism, and yet, St. Paul says, he was not sent 
to baptize. If that apostle believed in baptism, as 



314 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

Mr. Smith does, would he have made that remark ? 

25. Mr. Campbell again says, " Baptism is designed 
to introduce the subjects of it into the participation 
of the blessings of the death and resurrection of 
Christ." " To'the believing penitent, it is the means 
of receiving a formal, distinct, and specific absolution, 
or release from guilt." (page 58.) Baptism is the 
means by which God designs to confer all these im- 
mortal and heavenly blessings on men, and yet one 
of his greatest apostles declares, he was not sent to 
baptize; that is, was not sent to use the means by 
which alone men can participate in these blessings. 

26. Hear Mr. Campbell again: "The converts 
made to Christ, by the apostles, were taught to con- 
sider themselves pardoned, justified, sanctified, recon- 
ciled, adopted, saved." (page 187.) He then devotes 
several pages to show that the immersed only are in 
this condition, or state. Only those who submit to 
the act, as he terms it, of immersion, are in this new 
and changed condition, and yet the chief of the apos- 
tles tells the world, he was not sent to baptize ; that 
is, was not sent to do the act which alone can put men 
into a saved state or condition. 



IN THE WEST. 315 

CHAPTER XVIII. 



Discussion in Pontiac — The Apostle's Faith — His Argument in Ro- 
mans — Extensive Traveling — In Kansas and Missouri — Price's 
Raid — In Ohio and Indiana — Dark Night and Walk in Toledo — 
Conversation on Destructionism — The Yictort — The Death — 
President Lincoln — Debate in Milford, Ohio — The Restitution 
an old Doctrine — The Sentiment Wide Spread — At Work in Iowa 
•—Laborers There — Murderers Saved and the Murdered Lost — 
Intellectual and Moral Growth — What Man Was — What He is 
to Be — The Victory — Spiritualism — Immoral Preaching — Saved 
Without Repentance — Preaching a Means of Salvation — A 
Methodist Minister Believes — The Suicide. 

In the spring of 1864, I resolved to move to Chica- 
go, and publish the Magazine, in that city. The war 
was still raging, and I was apprehensive it would 
linger several years longer. 1 could do nothing in 
Missouri, and most of my subscribers were nearer 
Chicago than St. Louis. Accordingly, in May of said 
year, we bid adieu to the city which had been our 
home for many years, and took up our abode in the 
" Garden City " of the West. I had been there but 
once since 1840, and what a change had taken place ! 
Its population at the present time, is about two hun- 
dred thousand, but in 1840 it did not number more 
than six thousand inhabitants. And it will doubtless 
continue to make rapid strides in its onward march. 
Its lake navigation almost connecting it with the At- 
lantic ocean ; its railroads extending in all directions 
through the most productive agricultural region of 
tire world, must concentrate immense wealth and 
business in Chicago. 

Our denomination has two church edifices in Chi- 
cago, and two large societies. Dr. W. H. Ryder is 
pastor of the first society, and T. E. St. John of the 
second. Till recently, J. H. Tuttle had charge of the 



316 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

second society. There is also a denominational paper 
there — The New Covenant — published by D. P. 
Livermore. It has, I understand, an extensive circu- 
lation. 

There are far more of the liberal faith in this north- 
ern region than as far south as St. Louis. A large 
portion of the people are from the Eastern States, and 
they brought with them rational views of the Bible 
and religion. We have meeting-houses and societies 
all over this northern section, also ministers at work 
instructing the people, and uniting and concentrating 
their efforts. 

Soon after moving to Chicago, I had an oral discus- 
sion in Pontiac, 111., with Elder Brooks, on Endless 
Misery and Universal Salvation. In one of my 
speeches, I remarked : 

The apostle Paul was certainly a believer in the 
^salvation of all men. Some of his statements of this 
doctrine are remarkably lucid, comprehensive, and 
weighty. Take, for instance, the iiftli chapter to the 
Romans. 

1. In the eighteenth verse he says : " Therefore, as 
by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men 
to condemnation ; even so, by the righteousness of 
one the free gift came upon cell men unto justification 
of life." What is this "free gift" to all men? 
Answer: "For the wages of sin is death; but the 
gift of God is eternal life" Rom. vi. 23. Eternal 
life, then, is given, made sure, to all men. Not to 
one here and there; to this sect or that sect; this 
nation or that nation ; but to all men. Let this be 
remembered. 

2. In the next verse of said chapter, he continue*: 
" For as by one man's disobedience, many were made 
sinners ; so by the obedience of one shall many be 
made righteous." By "many" here he means the 
same as by " all men," in the preceding verse, the 
terms being varied to avoid tautology. Parkhurst, in 






m TIIE WEST. 317 

his Greek Lexicon says, " The word many in this 
verse, signifies the many ; that is, the mass, the multi- 
tude ; the whole hulk of mankind." Dr. Macknight, 
a Presbyterian critic, writes, u For as the word many 
in the first part of the verse, does not mean some part 
of mankind only, but all mankind, from first to last, 
who without exception are constituted sinners ; so the 
many, in the latter part of the verse, who are said to' 
be constituted righteous through the obedience of 
Christ, must mean all mankind, from the beginning 
to the end of the world, without exception." The 
statement of the apostle is this — all mankind are sin- 
ners, and all mankind shall be righteous. Can uni- 
versal salvation be expressed in clearer terms % 

3. He continues his argument : "Where sin abound- 
ed, grace did much more abound; and as sin hath 
reigned unto death, even so, might grace reign 
through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus 
Christ our Lord." Yerses 20, 21. Sin abounds uni- 
versally, but grace is much more to abound. The 
grace of God is not only to banish sin from every 
soul, but to bless every soul forever and ever. But 
how can grace abound more than sin, if millions of 
mankind are to be victims of sin eternally ? Will the 
grace of God, resulting in eternal life, abound in 
such souls? A valuable building is on fire ; the fire 
abounds in every part from base to attic. The en- 
gines rush to the spot and pour water all over the 
building, and extinguish the devouring flames. In 
this case where fire abounded, water much more 
abounds. But if the water failed to extinguish the 
fire in one half of the building, would water have 
abounded more than fire % So, if the grace of God 
puts out the fires of sin in only half of the universe, 
will grace abound more than sin? How is that, 
Elder Brooks ? 

4. The whole creation to be delivered. " For the 
creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly but 



318 TWENTY-FIVE TEAKS 

by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope ; 
because the creature itself shall be delivered from the 
bondage "of corruption iuto the glorious liberty of the 
children of God." Rom. viii. 20, 21. The word, " crea- 
ture," here means mankind ; the Greek whence it is 
taken, is rendered "creation" in the twenty-second 
verse. The words, " every creature," in the commis- 
sion of Christ to his apostles, are from the same term. 
" Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to 
every creature." Mark xvi. 15. Dr. Macknight and 
other good critics tell us, that the word rendered, crea- 
ture, signifies, " every human creature / all mankind." 
Dr. Thomas White, an English divine of the Episco- 
pal Church, translates the text thus : " For the crea- 
tion was made subject to vanity, not willingly ? but by 
reason of him who hath subjected it; in hope that 
the creation itself also shall be delivered from the 
bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the 
sons of God." Mankind, then, are to be delivered 
from corruption — from moral and physical corrup- 
tion — into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 
The apostle says, this universal deliverance shall be 
effected, and I believe him. 

5. God will have mercy on all. " For I would not, 
brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, 
lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that 
blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the ful- 
ness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel 
shall be saved ; as it is written, There shall come out 
Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness 
from Jacob : for this is my covenant unto them, 
when I shall take away their sins. As concerning 
the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes : but as 
touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' 
sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without 
repentance. For as ye in times past have not believ- 
ed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their 
unbelief : even so have these also now not believed, 



IN THE WEST. 319 

that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 
For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he 
might have mercy upon all. O the depth of the 
riche both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! 
how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways 
past finding out ? For who hath known the mind of 
the Lord ? or who hath been his counsellor ? Or who 
hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed 
unto him again ? For of him, and through him, and 
to him, are all things ; to whom be glory for ever. 
Amen." Kom. xi. 25-36. Jews and Gentiles include 
all mankind. The apostles tell us, that the blindness 
of the Jews is to continue "Till the fulness of the 
Gentiles be come in," and then "All Israel shall be 
saved." "For God hath concluded them all — 
Israelites and Gentiles — in unbelief that he might 
have mercy on all" And then he adds, "For of 
him, and through him, and to him are all things, to 
whom be glory forever. Amen." No terms can ex- 
press more forcibly the proposition I afiirm on this 
occasion. 

In the next verse, the apostle adds, " I beseech you 
therefore by the mercies of God, that ye present your 
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, 
which is your reasonable duty." In the previous part 
of his letter to the Romans, as I have shown, he 
writes of the mercies of God for mankind. 1. " The 
free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." 
2. "Many," that is, the mass, alf mankind, "shall be 
made righteous." 3. "Where sin abounded, grace 
did much more abound." 4. The whole creation 
shall be delievered from the bondage of corruption. 
5. God will bring all the Gentiles, and all the Jews, 
into the kingdom ; will " have mercy on all ;" for 
of him and through him, and to him are all things." 
His next words are, " I beseech you therefore by the 
mercies of God," etc. It is sometimes said by the 
opposers of Universal Grace, that it has an immoral 



320 TWENTY-FIVE TEAKS 

influence. But the great apostle beseeches men in 
consideration of its truth, to live holy, godly lives. 
He does not say, as some have profanely said, " If 
God's mercy will save the world, we have nothing to 
do ; let us then eat, drink and be merry ; lie, steal, 
and murder. It is all right ; God will save us any 
how." Let every believer in the universal mercy of 
God aim to live a life " holy and acceptable to God," 
which is his reasonable duty. 

These are the statements of the apostle to the Gen- 
tiles concerning the extent of salvation ; and I, and 
no other one, can employ language expressing more 
clearly the Universalist faith. That gifted man was 
certainly a believer in the " Restitution of all things." 

Since I have been in Chicago, I have traveled and 
lectured on nearly all the railroads running out of the 
city ; have labored not only in Illinois, but in Indi- 
ana, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas. I was at 
work in Kansas and Missouri when Price made his 
late raid into the latter state. That was in the fall of 
1864. Was in Leavenworth when the state militia 
were called out to resist the invaders. The people of 
Kansas expected no mercy at their hands should they 
enter the state ; Leavenworth, especially, would be 
sure to feel their wrath. The streets of the city were 
guarded, and orders issued, to arrest every straggler 
who was without a pass. Cannon were mounted on 
the surrounding hills, and every man who could 
shoulder a musket w T as required to report for duty. I 
was tempted to go, armed and equipped, to the 
"front," but recollecting I had not fired a gun for twen- 
ty years, I concluded I could not do much execution, 
and so set my face homeward. But how to get across 
the river into Missouri, was the question, as no one 
was allowed to go over without a pass, and I had no 
pass, and probably could not get one. I, however, 
rode boldly to the ferry as if I was on important busi- 
ness, and was passed over without being questioned. 



IN THE WEST. 321 

But when near Weston, I was stopped by the picket ; 
but the officer of the day soon coming along, took me 
to head-quarters, where I obtained a pass to St. Jo- 
seph. Leaving my horse with a kind friend, I went 
to St. Joseph by rail, and thence to the Mississippi 
river, two hundred miles across the state. Consider- 
able portion of the way being infested with bushwack- 
ers, there were thirty soldiers on the train to protect 
us from those bloody scoundrels. The guards fired 
on two horsemen, who seemed to be fleeing from the 
rushing train. Both fell, and as I learned afterward, 
they were killed, and were Union men. The con- 
ductor thought they were bushwackers, and that class 
of fighters were shot down like mad dogs, as they 
deserved to be. Only a few days before, and a few 
miles from that spot, Bill Anderson's bloody crew 
stopped a train, and murdered in cold blood twenty- 
one of the passengers. All armed stragglers on the 
prairies, were suspiciously regarded in that locality, 
after that terrible crime was perpetrated. Macon 
City was alive with business, fifteen hundred soldiers 
being there digging ditches, throwing up breastworks, 
and making every other necessary preparation to 
resist an attack, which was daily expected. I went to 
St. Louis, and found the citizens very indignant at 
the way General Rosecrans was managing affairs. 
Half of a general, with the force at Rosecrans' com- 
mand, would have driven Price out of the state at the 
beginning of the invasion, when he was yet in the 
south-east corner of it. But Rosecrans' head being 
full of whisky and popery, he let the rebels do about 
as they pleased. They overran the best portion of 
the state, and did an immense amount of harm. 

I spent three weeks, in the business of my life, 
between Chicago and Toledo, Ohio. Lectured in 
many places I had not before visited, and much 
extended my acquaintance. Had an appointment in 
East Toledo, a suburb of Toledo, and about three 



322 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

miles from it. It was a dismal night, and the road 
out there was a dismal road. I started after dark, on 
foot and alone, to fill the appointment. The weather 
was cold, the night dark, and the rain pouring down 
in torrents. There being no sidewalk, and the mud 
deep, I had an interesting walk. Arriving at the 
meeting-house, I found it cfark, and the door locked ; 
and after shivering in the wet and cold outside one 
hour, and not a soul joining me, I returned whence I 
came. I suppose no one expected I would be on 
hand such a night. The next day on the cars, I had 
the following conversation with a fellow passenger : 

" 1 do not believe in eternal punishment. I believe 
God will destroy the wicked, soul and body, root and 
branch." 

"When will he do all this?" 

"At the resurrection. Then God will raise saint 
and sinner, take the righteous to himself, and burn 
the wicked to ashes." 

" I congratulate you on the improvement you have 
made on old Orthodoxy. It is certainly better to 
burn sinners up, then burn them eternally." 

" I do not believe any one in this world has a spark 
of immortality in him. We are born mortal, live 
mortal, and unless we comply with certain conditions, 
we never can be immortal. Immortality is condi- 
tional, and unless we comply with those conditions, 
we shall be consumed in the conflagration." 

" What are those conditions ?" 

" Faith in Christ, is one of them." 

V Will all be destroyed except those who exercise 
faith in Christ % Is that your theory ?" 

"Yes." 

" Then nearly all mankind will be burned up. The 
countless millions who lived before Christ's advent — ■ 
the good and the bad — all consumed in one pile. 
All the Pagans, Mohammedans, and Jews who nave 
lived since his birth will share the same hery fate. 



IN THE WEST. 323 

All idiots, all children who have died such, will be 
consumed with them. Your creed is the gospel of 
destruction, almost universal destruction." 

" I did not say all them would be destroyed. " 

" I admit you did not say so in so many words, but 
no other inference can be drawn from your position. 
You said no one would be blessed with immortality 
and eternal life, who did not have faith in Christ in 
this world. The child, the idiot, the Pagan, the Mo- 
hammedan, all lack such a faith here, and the infer- 
ence is, they will all be destroyed. You are ashamed 
to admit in so many words such a horrid idea to me, 
but that is your faith." 

" You do not understand me, and you cannot con- 
vince the people of the White House that all will be 
saved." 

" I understand you and your fiery faith perfectly 
well. It is worse than Atheism, for it asserts that 
death is the end of man, while your creed asserts, 
that nearly all mankind will be raised from the dead 
on purpose to bum them up. Atheism is a hundred 
fold better than your theory. It is amazing to me, 
that a man with the Bible in his hands, and God all 
round him, can entertain such a terrible theory. You 
have eyes, but you see not ; ears, but you hear not ; 
understanding, but understand not. Read the words 
of truth emblazoned on God's word and works, ac- 
cept their teachings, and abandon your fiery creed, 
your worse than atheistical dogma." 

Spent one month on the Illinois Central railroad, 
and went south as far as Du Quoin, about three hun- 
dred miles, and lectured in most of the important 
towns, on and near the road. When in Mattoon and 
Charleston, the glorious news arrived of the evacua- 
tion of Richmond, and the surrender of Lee. Up 
went the banners, and loud were the hosannas. Eve- 
ry body were in the street, shaking hands, and with 
smiling faces. The terrible war was over, the gov- 



324 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

eminent was triumphantly sustained, and the soldier 
boys would soon return. No wonder the people were 
happy. 

I was in Ashley, April 14th. Some one said, 
"Have you heard the news?" "What news?" 
" Mr. Lincoln was murdered last night !" "It can- 
not be so," I replied ; " it is doubtless a false report ?" 
But in a few moments, the passenger train came down 
with its engine draped in black. That confirmed the 
heart-rending report. As the train approached the 
depot no one spoke — no one could speak. The peo- 
ple turned homeward with meditative steps and down 
cast look. All over the land, from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific, in city and country, where the sad tidings was 
conveyed, the people were struck dumb. Mr. Lin- 
coln's character had been tested by the most difficult 
circumstances, and he had proved himself to be a 
wise, noble, far-seeing man. Every body had confi- 
dence in him — in his judgment, his uprightness, his 
patriotism. He was deemed the Savior of his coun- 
try. No wonder the people were " stricken, smitten 
and affiicted." And then, the awful news was so dif- 
ferent from what the people had just been feasting 
on. This was victory, victory, victory. The enemy 
was subdued, and the country saved. That was 
death, death, death. The great, the good, the be- 
loved President, was murdered, and that, too, in the 
very hour of his triumph. 

I was at Du Quoin the next day ; and it was report- 
ed of three men in town, that they had said, "Lin- 
coln was served right," and forthwith some soldiers, 
who were at home on a furlough, started post-haste, 
and brought them into town. They would have been 
hung, if it had been proved they dropped those obnox- 
ious words. 

I had a discussion in Milford, Ohio, with John 
Sweeney of Chicago, which continued four days. 
He was pretty well posted on doctrinal points, and 



IN THE WEST. 325 

did some good work for his cause. The discussion 
was conducted pleasantly, and I trust profitably to 
the hearers. He said, that the idea of the salvation 
of all men was new in the world ; had been enter- 
tained but a few years. In my reply I remarked : 

The gentleman greatly errs in asserting that the 
idea of the final purification and salvation of all souls, 
is a new thought in this world. The apostle Peter 
informs us, that the "Restitution of all things was 
spoken by the mouth of all God's holy prophets since 
the world began." Acts iii. 21. It is as old, then, as 
inspiration, as revelation. And far back in the depths 
of the past, hundreds of years before Christ, and out- 
side of the Jewish nation, the "Restitution of all 
things " was cherished by many of the wise and 
good. Upper India was doubtless one of the first 
abodes of mankind after the flood, ]SToah or some of 
his children, having settled there. In the sacred 
books of the early inhabitants of that country, the 
redemption of all souls is distinctly stated. Budh- 
ism, a sort of Protestant Reformation of the old 
faith of the people, avows the same destiny for man- 
kind. Padmahani, the Son of the Supreme God, made 
a vow not to return to heaven until all beings should 
be brought through him to salvation. True, they 
were to pass through many terrible hells — first, a 
hell of snakes, then came thirty-two principal hells, 
and then one hundred and twenty minor hells. The 
road to heaven, according to that old theology, was 
certainly hard to travel ; but I suppose one had bet- 
ter go to heaven through all those hells than not get 
there at all. The author of the " Friend of India," 
gives the following as the views of many of the pres- 
ent inhabitants of that country. " According to the 
Brahmos, God is a loving Father, and men are his 
children ; to secure happiness, men must avoid sin 
and subdue the sins to which they are prone. They 
must fulfil all human duty, and especially devote 



326 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

themselves to works of benevolence among the ignor- 
ant and poor. For the wrong they do, they will suf- 
fer punishment ; but their sufferings are remedial, and 
will purify the soul from all its errors. Meditation 
and prayer are to be employed for the same end ; and 
to assist their followers in this duty, a little book has 
been published, which is extensively used." 

In Egypt, the land of ancient wisdom, many of the 
priests, Dr. Enfield thinks, entertained a belief in the 
salvation of all men. See his " History of Philoso- 
phy," Book I, chapter 8. In the old Persian mythol- 
ogy, the same idea is contained. It has a God and a 
Savior ; and the latter will finally restore all from the 
power of satan. 

For three or four hundred years after Christ, many 
of the leading Christian writers were believers in the 
"Restitution of all things." Says Clement, Presi- 
dent of the theological school in Alexandria, the most 
noted school of the second and third centuries: 
" How is he a Savior and Lord, unless he is the Sav- 
ior and Lord of all ? He is certainly the Savior of 
those who have believed : and of those who have not 
believed he is the Lord, until by being brought to 
confess him they shall receive the proper and well- 
adapted blessing for themselves." " The Lord is the 
propitiation not only for our sins, that is, of the faith- 
ful, but also for the whole world ; therefore he indeed 
saves all, but converts some by punishments, and oth- 
ers by gaining their free-will, so that he has the high 
honor that unto him every knee should bow, of things 
in heaven, on earth, and under the earth ; that is, an- 
gels, men, and the souls of those who died before his 
advent." 

Clement's great pupil, Origen, was a noted advo- 
cate of Universal Salvation. He says : " We assert 
that the "Word who is the wisdom of God, shall bring 
together all intelligent, creatures, and convert them 
into his own perfection, through the instrumentalities 



IN THE WEST. 327 

of their free-well and their own exertions. And the 
consummation of all things will be the extinction of 
m/ but whether it shall then be so abolished as 
never to revive again in the universe does not belong 
to the present discourse to show. What relates, how- 
ever, to the entire abolition of sin and the reformer 
tion of every soul, may be obscurely traced in many 
of the prophecies ; for there we discover that the 
name of God is to be invoked by all, so that all shall 
serve him with one consent, that the reproach of con- 
tumely is to be taken away, and that there is to be no 
more sin, nor vain words, nor treacherous tongue. 
This may not indeed take place with mankind in the 
present life, but be accomplished after they shall have 
been liberated from the body." 

A century later, Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, advo- 
cated the same faith in the plainest terms : " What 
therefore is the scope of St. Paul's dissertation in this 
place ? That the nature of evil shall at last be wholly 
exterminated, and divine, immortal goodness embrace 
within itself every rational creature ; so that of all 
who were made by God, not one shall be excluded 
from his kingdom." 

Diodorus, Bishop of Tarsus, in Silicia, A.D. 378, 
was of that faith. " The wicked," he says, " are to 
suffer, not eternal torment, but a punishment propor- 
tioned in length to the amount of their guilt ; after 
which, they are to be happy without end." About 
the same time, lived Fabius Manus Victorinus. He 
maintained, that " Christ will regenerate all things; 
through him all things will be purged, and return to 
eternal life." 

Other learned, good, and influential men in those 
early days, believed in and taught this truth. I will 
name Titus, Bishop of Bostia ; Basil the Great, Bish- 
op of Csesarea ; Didymus the Blind, and the learned 
and powerful Jerome. In fact, most of the Chris- 
tians, Orthodox and anti-Orthodox, in the first age of 



328 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

the Christian Era, entertained this faith. The writers 
of those times speak of this faith as if it was not 
questioned; they offer no labored argument in its 
defence, and when they do refer to it, it is only inci- 
dentally. But darkness was rapidly covering the 
earth, and gross darkness the people. The enlighten- 
ed and benevolent doctrine of the Restitution was not 
adapted to the savagism of the dark ages that was 
then threatening the world, and so in the year of our 
Lord 553, at Constantinople, by the Fifth Ecumeni- 
cal Council, it was condemned. From that period till 
the Reformation of the fourteenth century, the relig- 
ions of the world corresponded with the ignorance and 
brutality that prevailed. Our wise, benevolent, and 
pure faith, not harmonizing with the savagism of the 
times, had but few adherents. But in the great relig- 
ious awakening of the fourteenth century, it was 
again entertained, and has been ever since gradually 
gaining in favor. 

In A.D. 1650, Gerard Winstonley, an Englishman, 
in a book called, "Mystery of God," thus writes, 
" The whole creation of mankind shall be delivered 
from corruption, bondage, death, and pain." He was 
persecuted for his faith, and thrown into prison. At 
the same time lived and labored William Earbury, an 
eminent preacher among the Independents. He was 
a, defender of the same faith. He asked, " What gos- 
pel, what glad tidings is it to tell the world, that none 
can be saved but the elect and believers? Christ 
came to save only the lost, giving the word of life to 
all men, that they might believe, a shutting all up in 
unbelief, that he might have mercy on ally " For the 
ministry of God shall be finished, fully known, and 
the angel swears by God, that time shall be no more ; 
for all shall be taken up into eternity, unto God him- 
self, and God shall be all in ally {Terror of Tythes, 
pages 175, 244.) 

Another noble defender of the Restitution in those 



EST THE WEST. 329 

times, was Richard Coppin. lie was charged with 
blasphemy for believing in Universal Salvation, and 
he replied, u Whatever is the will of God is not blas- 
phemy to affirm. The will of God is the salvation of 
all men, therefore to say that all men shall he saved is 
not blasphemy." (Truth? 8 Triumph, page 7.) He 
confounded his opposers in discussion, and that so en- 
raged them, they had him imprisoned. This took 
place in 1656. At this time a book by an unknown 
author appeared, with this title : " Of the Torments 
of Hell; The Foundation; And the Pillars Thereof 
Discovered, Searched, Shaken and Ruined. With 
infallible proof that there is not to be punishment for 
the wicked after this life ; for any to endure that shall 
not end." The author was certainly a man of abili- 
ty, and much reading. He gives Orthodoxy some 
pretty hard hits. This was written over two hundred 
years ago. 

At the same time lived Jeremy White, a chaplain 
to Protector Cromwell. He published a book called, 
" The Restitution of All Things : or, a vindication of 
the goodness and grace of Gocl, to be manifested at 
last in the recovery of the whole creation out of their 
fall." He was truly a christian man ; his soul was 
imbued with the spirit of his faith. Dr. Thomas Bur- 
net of that age, was of like faith, and Lord Macauley, 
in his " History of England," says he was " a clergy- 
man of eminent genius, learning and virtue." In 
one of his works he writes, "I know not by what 
means it happens at present, that some divines of a 
cruel and fiery temper are extremely pleased with 
eternal and infinite punishment, and can hardly en- 
dure to have the point fairly examined and debated 
on both sides." There are some of that kind in the 
i world now. 

William Whiston, the well known translator of Jo- 
sephus, was an unbeliever in endless misery. He 
wrote a book entitled, " The Eternity of Hell Tor- 



330 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

ments Considered." Archbishop Hare says, he was 
" a fair, unblemished character ; all his life he cultiva- 
ted piety, virtue and. good bearing." He succeeded 
Sir Isaac Newton as Professor of Mathematics, at 
Cambridge. In his book he offers some cogent argu- 
ments against eternal woe, but I have not time "to state 
them on this occasion. R. Roach, another English 
clergyman, who flourished over an hundred years ago, 
say, "Then will the general redemption be accom- 
plished, and the mediating office of the great High 
Priest be at an end, for he will then deliver up the 
kingdom thus completed to his Father, that c God may 
be all in alV " Bishop Warburton, the celebrated 
author of the " Divine Legation of Moses," had no 
faith in ceaseless woe. He justly calls the preachers 
of that doctrine, " unmerciful doctors," " merciless 
doctors." 

But I have not time to cite any more English testi- 
mony, that the doctrines of the Restitution have been 
long entertained by many of the purest, best, and 
most learned of that nation. I will cross over into 
Germany, and see if these sentiments have not been 
entertained in that enlightened land. 

As early as 1590, Samuel Huber, Professor of Di- 
vinity, in Witteniburg, was a believer in the Restitu- 
tion, according to Spauheim, Professor of Divinity at 
Geneva : " We think," says the latter, " the opinion 
of Huber on this subject absurd, who about the close 
of the last century, began to publish and defend a 
universal election of all men in Christ to salvation." 
At the same early day our righteous faith had a tal- 
ented, learned and pious advocate in John William 
Petersen. He was Professor of Poetry at Rostock, in 
1677. He was also superintendent at Lubic and 
Lunenburg, and court preacher at Lutin. In 1700, he 
published a work in three volumes, in defense of the 
Restitution, which was extensively read, and caused 
much excitement in Germany. 



IN THE WEST. 331 

At the same time was published a book which has 
been widely circulated and extensively read. It is 
entitled, "The Everlasting Gospel," by Paul Seig- 
volk. It clearly and forcibly advocates the salvation 
of mankind. It was very popular in Germany, and 
has been republished at various times in different 
parts of Europe. It was also published in this coun- 
try as early as 1753. That our divine faith was wide- 
ly diffused in those days, we learn from many other 
sources. In the Analytical Review, an English peri- 
odical published in 1780, we find the following : 

" The doctrine of the final happiness of mankind, 
which present the prospect of the termination of all 
evil, and of a period in which the deep shades of mis- 
ery and guilt, which have so long enveloped the uni- 
verse, shall be forever dispelled, is so pleasing a spec- 
ulation to a benevolent mind, that we do not wonder 
it meets with so many advocates. From the earliest 
period, we doubt not the belief of it has been secretly 
entertained by many, who, in the face of opposition 
and danger, had not the resolution to avow it. Now, 
however, it has broken through every restriction, and 
walks abroad in every form that is adapted to con- 
vince the philosophic, to arouse the unthinking, and 
to melt the tender." 

These books, and others of like character, were 
extensively circulated in Germany, and called the 
attention of the public to the benevolent faith advo- 
cated with so much learning and piety. An exciting 
controversy was the result ; and learned men on both 
sides put forth all their strength for and against this 
controverted doctrine. 

But I have not time to say more about the history 
of Universalism in Germany. Ever since the Refor- 
mation, that faith has been gaining adherents, and at 
the present time, it is almost universally entertained 
by the Protestants of that country. Says Dr. Dwight, 
in " Travels in North Germany," " The doctrine of 



332 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

endless punishment is almost universally rejected. I 
have seen but one person who believed it." Not only 
in Germany and England, but in Holland, Switzer- 
land, France, Scotland, and in other parts of Europe, 
the doctrine of Universal Salvation prevailed at an 
early day, and at the present time is widely diffused. 
It. exists"more or less in all the Protestant denomina- 
tions. There is no sect in Europe called Universal- 
ist, but the sentiment is found in all sects, and en- 
counters very little opposition. 

I also spent three weeks in the north part of Iowa. 
Lectured in Lyons, Marshalltown, Newton, Iowa City, 
Washington, and in many other places. T. C. Eaton, 
who resides in Des Moines, has labored very success- 
fully in the interior of that state. He has long been 
in the West — has resided in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
as well as in Iowa — and wherever he has lived, has 
always been a faithful laborer in the Master's vine- 
yard. J. P. Sanford, is in Marshalltown, and is an 
eloquent speaker, and laborious worker. Some fifteen 
years since, I was introduced to him in Bentonsport, 
Iowa. He was then a Methodist, and asked many 
questions concerning the liberal faith. Six months 
afterward he commenced preaching, and has been in 
the ministry ever since. He was in the army two 
years during the late rebellion, and was captain, colo- 
nel, chaplain. He has traveled some in Europe, and, 
it is said, delivers some interesting lectures concerning 
" the old country." He is also a noted masonic lec- 
turer. In Newton met A. C. Edmonds, who resides 
and preaches in the place. He has spent several years 
in California and Oregon, traveling and preaching; has 
also published a denominational paper in those states. 
Our people have a meeting-house, also a society, in 
Newton. In Iowa City, the Universalists own a 
church edifice, and J. Kinney is pastor of the society. 
He is an excellent man, and the good cause prospers 
under his ministry. 



IN THE WEST. 333 

I have labored in Iowa, more or less, moot every 
year, for a long time, and until lately my journeys 
were made on horseback. In this way I have travel- 
ed over about two thirds of the state. Iowa abounds 
in good soil, and will, in a few years, be a rich and 
populous country. Now is the time to establish our 
beautiful faith in that young and vigorous state. It 
will improve the people spiritually and morally, while 
they are making themselves pleasant homes, and de- 
veloping the resources of the land, Said a man to 
me in Marshalltown : 

" Do you think the assassin Booth can be saved ?" 
" Jesus said, ' I came to seek and save the lost.' 
c They that are whole need not a physician, but they 
that are sick.' And the apostle Paul teaches, that 
Christ came to save the chief of sinners. As it was 
the mission of our Savior to save the lost, the morally 
sick, the chief of sinners, I dare not say, that even 
Booth cannot be saved. But if Orthodoxy is true, I 
had rather have Booth's chances for heaven than Mr. 
Lincoln's. The latter received his death wound with- 
out a moment's warning, and was not conscious an 
instant after the fatal bullet struck his head. He be- 
longed to no church, was not a professor of religion ; 
and so according to Orthodoxy, died impenitent, unre- 
generated, a sinner, and must be lost eternally. But 
Booth lived one or two hours after he was wounded, 
and was perfectly conscious to the last moment of his 
life. And who knows but he repented of his great 
crime before he expired ? And if he did, according to 
Orthodoxy, he went straight to heaven. But if there 
is any truth in Orthodoxy, Mr. Lincoln had no chance 
whatever, for he died ' impenitent.' If Partialism is 
true, as a general rule, murderers are saved, while 
the murdered are lost, for in nine cases of every ten, 
the latter, being killed suddenly, without any inti- 
mation of their doom, and so have not time to say 
' Lord save me,' are eternally lost ; while the former, 



334 TWENTY-FIVE YEABS 

the murderers, having timely warning of their fate, 
and special effort being made for their regeneration, 
almost invariably swing from the gallows soundly 
converted, and so go from the gibbet to immortal 
glory. It takes Orthodoxy to translate the bloody 
criminal into a saint, and lit him for heaven between 
his monstrous crime and the halter ; but Universal- 
ism is required to save 5 the murdered, the victim of 
his iniquity. While I was residing in St. Louis, a 
wretch by the name of Lamb, held with his own 
hands, his young and confiding wife in the Mississippi 
river, till she was dead. He was arrested, confessed 
his guilt, and was hung ; and on the gallows said, ' I 
have a hope within me that bears me up — a hope 
that I shall live with God, and be happy with him, 
and that I shall sing his praise. I die with a trust in 
God.' And Dr. Anderson, a Presbyterian, his spirit- 
ual adviser, published in the papers that he was ' sat- 
isfied of the reality of Lamb's penitence.' Behold 
the abominations of Orthodoxy! That woman be- 
longed to no church, had not 'got religion,' and so was 
banished from the murderer's hands to the devil, to 
be the victim of his diabolical cruelty eternally. But 
the incarnate fiend, whom the law called her husband, 
was transported a few months afterward, from the 
gallows to the third heaven, according to Orthodoxy." 

In one of my sermons in Washington, I spoke as 
follows : 

As man is susceptible of physical improvement, is 
he not also of intellectual and moral? Cannot the 
soul develop, grow, as well as the body % What a 
vast difference there is between the infant mind and 
that mind which has devoted years to intellectual and 
moral culture % The soul is a germ ; and as the germ 
in the seed, under favorable circumstances, will bud, 
blossom, and yield a rich harvest, so this spiritual 
germ, if no obstructions interdict, will develop its 
heavenly proportions to perfect manhood. The race, 



IN THE WEST. 335 

like each individual, has its childhood, its youth, and 
perfect manhood. One individual is a representative 
of the race. As one progresses the rest may. Sup- 
pose every human being who walks the earth for live 
hundred years, should make intellectual and moral 
improvement, the great end and aim of his life, all 
other pursuits subordinate to that one, what would be 
the consequence % Would not Americans and Euro- 
peans, at the expiration of that time, be as far in 
advance of their present condition as they are now in 
advance of the New Hollanders, Hottentots, and 
inhabitants of the South Sea Islands ? Undoubtedly 
they would. The whole race would then be in the 
kingdom of God. Sin would no longer be nurtured 
on earth. There would be no soil for it to grow in. 
The longed hoped for, and prayed for, Millenium 
would be ushered in — all would know the Lord from 
the least to the greatest — the lion and the lamb 
would lie down together. This glorious era is pre- 
dicted by Holy Writ, and God's elder Scriptures. 
Bevelation and nature unite in testifying that man- 
kind, God's noblest and best work, and for whom the 
universe was made, are susceptible of infinite im- 
provement, that they will shine brighter and brighter 
to the perfect day. 

It may require more than five centuries to produce 
such results ; it probably will ; but eternity is before 
us. Our race is in its dawn only. The morning 
twilight has just appeared. The darkness of barbar- 
ism still lingers in the horizon. The chains of intel- 
lectual and moral despotism are still clanking in 
our midst. But the race, as well as the individual, 
will reach noon-day. The sun of righteousness will 
mount the zenith, and disperse all darkness and melt 
all chains. Such characters as Moses, Homer, Plato, 
Lord Bacon, Shakspeare, Newton, Napoleon, Frank- 
lin, Washington, Jefferson, Clay, Webster, Beecher, 
Chapin, and a multitude of others in intellect ; and 



336 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS 

such as Socrates, St. John, St. Paul, Melancthon, How- 
ard, Charming, Oberlin, Speer, and others to numer- 
ous to mention, in mokal wokxh, indicate the intel- 
lectual and moral hights all may ultimately attain. 
They stand out in bold relief from the mass of man- 
kind, indicating the capabilities of human nature. 
They are pioneers in the intellectual and moral field, 
and the ground they occupy will ere long be occupied 
by all. They are 'beacons on the rushing stream of 
life to pilot humanity into the celestial haven. 

The history of the earth and all therein and thereon, 
as revealed by science and history, illustrates the law 
of progress. This earth has been a theater of life for 
innumerable ages — how long it is not for us to know. 
Many of the remains of the old world are embeded in 
the crust of the earth ; and from them we learn, that 
from the first appearance of life in the vegetable form, 
up to man, there has been a regular progressive devel- 
opment. The order seems to have been about thus : 
1. Gross matter ; 2. Mineral ; 3. Marine Plants ; 4. 
Fish ; 5. Reptiles ; 6. Birds ; 7. Marsupial ; 8. Mam- 
alia ; 9. Man, the flower, the crown, the lord of crea- 
tion. All these classes are interlinked, one hand 
reaching up, and the other clown, and all are ascend- 
ing in the line of the spiral, up to man. Every suc- 
ceeding class is superior to the preceding, from the 
first to the last, and each class is moving onward. 
The last type of the vegetable kingdom is infinitely 
superior to the first, and so of all the other classes. 
And man of the sixtieth century is far superior to 
man of the first century. No miracle was wrought 
in bringing any of these species into existence. ~No 
law of nature was violated, or suspended ; but all, 
from the lowest grade up to man, were brought on to 
the stage of life according to perfect and immutable 
laws, emenating from the great Fountain of the Uni- 
verse. 

Mankind in their infancy were ignorant creatures ; 



IN THE WEST. 337 

as much below the Indians of the Rocky Mountains, 
intellectually and morally, as they are below us. 
They wandered, naked, in clans, like the«Indians of 
the West, "subsisting on fish, reptiles, and such animals 
as they could kill with their simple weapons, and on 
the spontaneous fruit of the earth, without shelter by 
night, or protection from the burning sun or pelting 
storm. 

Many centuries after this period, about the time the 
city of Babylon was founded, although great advance- 
ment had been made, yet the mass of the people were 
as ignorant as are the aborigines of America. There 
were a few highly developed minds, but the great 
body of the people were enveloped in mental dark- 
ness, of which we can form but faint conception — 
fit materials for tyrants and leaders to make machines 
of, and they freely used them for such sacreligious 
purposes. They were subject to their leader's will ; 
were his bone and sinew ; his battle axe and shield. 
He was the head, they the body. At his will they 
suffered and toiled, lived and died, and when their 
oppressors' earthly career closed, they erected pyra- 
mids to perpetuate his fame and their degradation. 
No effort was made to enlighten and moralize the 
mass of mankind, for their masters well knew that 
ignorant men made the best tools. 'No advancement 
would have been made under such unfavorable cir- 
cumstances had not growth been natural to man. 

If we trace the 'history of mankind during the rise 
and progress of the Chaldean, Babylonian, Persian and 
Roman empires, up to the time Christ was on earth, 
we find, that although ignorance and degradation are 
prominent features of the civilization of those times, 
yet our hearts are made glad with clear evidence of 
human progress. Every subsequent generation was 
wiser and better than the previous one. True, the 
advancing tide was slow, the current sluggish; some- 
times obstacles would arrest its progress, and even 



338 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

force it back toward its source, but nature would then 
redouble her efforts, and sweep away all obstacles, and 
press forward with her immortal freight to sunnier 
skies and fairer climes. 

When the Christian Era opened, it was the golden 
age of antiquity. The purity of our Savior's life, his 
deep and fervent love for mankind, the beauty and 
life-giving energy of the precepts and truths he utter- 
ed, together with the goodness, zeal and extensive 
labors and sufferings of his apostles and their associ- 
ates, gave the human mind an impetus it had not be- 
fore known. 

The apostles and their coadjutors traversed the Ro- 
man empire, which embraced most of the known 
world, and denounced Paganism, and every species of 
immorality, and called on the nations of the earth to 
worship the one living and true God, who made and 
governs the universe. They proclaimed, in obedience 
to their divine Master, that God was the Father of 
all mankind ; that the latter compose one great 
brotherhood, and are destined for immortality, pro- 
gression and happiness; and from these cardinal 
truths they drew these inferences, and enforced them 
with holy life and eloquent speech — that men should 
exercise brotherly kindness, general benevolence and 
charity, and aid each other in traveling the heavenly 
road. 

Those holy men did not labor in vain. The human 
soul was quickened into higher life by the germinat- 
ing power of truth ; and had the gospel been retained 
in its purity, and had the social and political condition 
of mankind been in a higher sphere of development, 
and had those favorable conditions continued to the 
present time, long ago the Millenium would have 
been ushered in. But the gospel was corrupted ; the 
social and political condition of mankind, although in 
advance of any previous period, was in a deplorable 
state. The Bom an heart was rotten, the Boman 



m THE WEST. 339 

empire was corrupt, and before Christianity was pro- 
claimed in it to much extent, the empire was totter- 
ing on its throne, and shaking from center to circum- 
ference; and these percusors of still greater evils 
tilled the world with terror and confusion. The Pope 
surplanted Christ, and Catholicism, Christianity ; and 
the Roman empire, by political earthquakes, was 
shaking on its sandy foundation. And to add to the 
terrors and disasters of the times, floods of barbarians 
came rushing from the north, and the Saracens from 
the east, like the lava from Vesuvius, that over- 
whelmed Herculaneum and Pompeii, and buried the 
empire and civilization beneath the flood, and almost 
extinguished the light and life of Christianity. Those 
were the darkest days the world had seen for many a 
century. 

Human progress then received a check from which 
it was a long time in recovering ; but the innate ten- 
dency of human nature to move onward finally over- 
came the mountains that human folly had thrown in 
its way, and after the lapse of several centuries it 
emerged into the light of science and religion. 

The morning twilight which succeeded that long 
night of anarchy, priestly rule and superstition, dawn- 
ed on the world in the fourteenth century. Intellect, 
which had slumbered for ages, began to throw off its 
lethargy. Universities sprang up in Europe. Sci- 
ence, literature and religion began to be studied. Old 
theories were looked into and questioned ; and then 
the martyr's tires were rekindled by the conservatives 
of that age ; for every age has a class who love to 
stand up to their ears in mud at their old landmarks, 
and threaten all with temporal ruin or eternal damna- 
tion, or both, who make an effort to get out of the 
tilth into the pure air and sunshine of heaven. This 
old hunkerism I abhor, whether in church, state, or 
literature. It would repress the energies of the world. 
Our motto should be — go where the stream of truth 



340 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

bears us, regardless of consequences ; they should not 
be feared. Error and ignorance only are real and 
fearful enemies. 

Those early pioneers in the domain of truth, paid 
dear for their independence and wisdom; many of 
whom were burned at the stake or incarcerated in 
dungeons. But the truths they uttered were not so 
easily forced out of the world. A pious poet of those 
times, speaking of the disinterment and scattering of 
Wickliffe's ashes on the Avon, utters this prophetic 
language : 

'•The Avon to the Severn runs, 
The Severn to the sea, 
And Wickliffe's ashes shall be strewn 
Wide as the water3 be." 

The martyrs of truth fertilize our soil. The fires that 
consumed their bodies lighten our skies. The clank- 
ing of their chains, and the groans they uttered, are 
yet sounding in our ears, and inspire us with indig- 
nation against despotism of every name and kind. 
They did as much for human progress by suffering 
and dying in its cause as they did by the pen, speech, 
or holy life. Their tears and their blood form a river 
which has been meandering through the heart of 
humanity down to the present time ; and all along its 
margin, little rills have been pouring into it from the 
hearts and eyes of those who have been persecuted 
for righteousness' sake. And the stream that was 
once small has become large, and will increase every 
day as it flows on, imparting vitality to the great 
heart of humanity. Eevere those great men. And 
although they may not have known the whole truth, 
yet they were far in advance of the age in which they 
lived, were true friends of man, and we owe them a 
lasting debt of gratitude. 

And what shall I say of the present condition of 
the enlightened nations of the earth ? The truth is, 



IK THE WEST. 341 

never before did man attain the intellectual and moral 
eminence he now enjoys ; never before was the hu- 
man mind so active or making such rapid strides. 
" The world is entering on a new moral cycle. The 
great heart of humanity is heaving with hopes of a 
still brighter day. The instincts of our nature proph- 
esy its approach, and the best intellects of our world 
are struggling to turn that prophecy to fulfilment. 
Thoughts of freedom, duty, benevolence, equality and 
human brotherhood agitate the nations of the earth ; 
and neither the Pope with his Cardinals and Jesuits, 
nor the kings with their ministers, can repress it. 
Were these thoughts imprisoned in the center of the 
earth, they would burst its granite folds, speed onward 
in their career and fill their destiny. They are im- 
bued with a deathless vigor. They must prevail, or 
the idea of a Moral Governor of the universe is im- 
possible, and the divine truths of the gospel a fable." 

Old ideas are being modified, or laid aside without 
a memento to keep them in remembrance, and new 
ones from the heavenly mint are taking their places. 
The pruning-hook and plough-share are making sad 
havoc of grey-bearded theories. But we must not for 
a moment suppose that the worshipers of antiquated 
institutions and ideas, will yield in this struggle with- 
out a desperate effort to preserve their idols. And 
no doubt the cry will be raised as of old, " Great is 
Diana of the Ephesians ;" and multitudes will shout, 
" Crucify, cruciiy, all who are not of our party." 

All who have eyes must see that changes are taking 
place every where. Men may shut their eyes and 
prophesy that all things will continue as they are ; but 
as Galleo said of the earth, after renouncing his phi- 
losophy to save his life : " It kevolves still ;" so 
whether we believe it or not, the human mind is out- 
growing and leaving old errors, which had their ori- 
gin in barbarism, and is advancing into the region of 
truth and reality. 



342 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

But the old heavens and earth will not pass away 
without great noise — not until the elements shall be 
melted with fervent heat, by the Sun of righteous- 
ness. The nations of the earth have long fought with 
steel and bullet, but now the great .battle of ideas is 
being fought. The old and the new, the past and the 
present, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of 
satan, have entered the list ; and as sure as the rising 
sun dispels the darkness, chill, and dampness of night, 
as sure as day succeeds night, will truth triumph over 
error in this conflict. The hay, wood and stubble 
will be consumed, but the silver and gold will pass 
the fiery ordeal. 

Had some conversation with a Spiritualist. The 
Bible, in his estimation, is full <3f lies and absurdities, 
as unreliable in its religious instruction as an almanac 
in its weather prognostics. But all Spiritualists do 
not go to that extreme ; many of them entertain sin- 
cere respect for that book, and love to cultivate the 
religious sentiment. I have a great deal of faith in 
that kind of Spiritualism. The old prophets, Christ 
and his apostles, and multitudes of the wise and good 
in all ages, have been Spiritualists of that character. 
Such kind of Spiritualism is only another name for 
Christianity. But with the irreverent and ungodly 
sort of»Spiritulism, I have no sympathy. I believe it 
to be blasting and damning in its influence, and will 
ultimately land its believers in rank Atheism. It has 
already made shipwreck of many a man and woman, 
and its dreadful work in that direction will 'fearfully 
increase unless there should be a return to reason. 

I attended a revival meeting while on this journey, 
and witnessed some extraordinary doings. There 
was shouting, ranting, screaming, jumping, crying 
and laughing. The preacher told us, that the lowest 
and vilest could be instantly translated into saints. I 
remembered the old song I had heard on such occa- 
sions : 



IN THE WEST. 343 

° Come dirty, come filthy, come ragged, come bare : 
You can't come too filthy — come just as you are." 

The preacher did not intend to promote immorality, 
but no doubt this telling people, that unwashed scoun- 
drels at the end of a long life in every crime can be 
instantly transformed into saints of the first water, 
and so escape all punishment for a misspent life, has 
a very immoral influence. A hardened sinner may 
to-day right-about face, and resolve to travel upward 
hereafter, but he has a long journey before him. But 
if he pursues it, he will finally reach the heavenly 
city, and walk its golden streets. 

A" man at the meeting asked me if a person could 
be " saved without repentance and regeneration ?" I 
replied : 

" You might as well ask if a man can see without 
eyes, hear without ears, think without a head, talk 
without a tongue, or walk without legs. You misun- 
derstand salvation. It is not from an outward hell, 
but from ignorance, error, sin, and all their debasing 
effects. He who has thoroughly repented, or reform- 
ed, which is the same thing, is saved, not will be ; a 
regenerated soul is saved, not will be saved at some 
future period, and in some other world. Repentance 
and regeneration sweep and garnish the soul, make 
it a fit habitation for the heavenly guest — salvation. 
Jesus said, 'Repent, for the kingdom of God is at 
hand.' It is always < at hand,' ready to be established 
in every reformed, regenerated heart." 

Said another, " If ITniversalism is true, what is the 
use of preaching?" 

""Why, my dear sir," I answered, "preaching is 
one means by which salvation is effected. God works 
by means. By means of the sun he lightens and 
warms the earth ; by means of the rain he cools and 
purifies the atmosphere, fertilizes the soil, and fills our 
fountains with living water. By means of natural 



344 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

laws he controls every globe, and every particle of 
matter in the universe. So, by wise and righteous 
instrumentalities, he blesses man spiritually, and will 
continue to bless him forever and ever. And the 
proclamation of truth and righteousness, through the 
christian ministry, is one means appointed by heaven 
to this blessed end. Eighteen hundred years ago 
Jesus said, i Know the truth, and the truth shall make 
you free ;' and he consecrated men, and commissioned 
them, to ' Go into all the world and preach the gospel 
to every creature.' It is freedom now that we need ; 
it is salvation now, that the proclamation of the truth 
produces. As the presence of Jesus brought salva- 
tion into Zaccheus' house, so the preaching of the gos- 
pel brings a present salvation to the soul. Give up 
the wretched delusion, that the chief end of preaching 
is to save us from a hell beyond the grave. It is for 
no such a purpose. Its object is to enlighten and pur- 
ify man noio, that he may be happy in this world." 

In Kimball, I delivered a discourse ; and at its 
close a Methodist minister told the congregation that 
he, heart and soul, believed in the " Restitution of all 
things ;" and that he would not part with that faith 
for the world. He said it was the joy of his life ; it 
made him a better man ; it prepared him to live, and 
he trusted that it would be his stay and his hope in 
the hour of death. 

I stopped in Moline, 111., and delivered one dis- 
course. This is a manufacturing place, at the head 
of Rock Island, and exhibits much thrift and enter- 
prise. Said a man to me in the town : 

" The Bible says, no self-murderer shall enter the 
kingdom of God. What do you do with that pas- 



sage?" 



" That is home-made scripture," I replied ; " there 
is nothing of the kind in the Bible. Besides, there 
never was, and never will be, a self-murderer. To 
murder is to ' kill with malice aforethought? A man 



IN THE WEST. 345 

may commit suicide, but that is not murder, for he 
does not do it with malignity or malice toward him- 
self. For the poor suicide I have much sympathy. 
Who can estimate the agony he suffered, to escape 
which, he took his own life % Have charity for such 
a poor unfortunate ; speak not harshly of him ; con- 
demn him not. Jesus would weep over his grave, 
and say, 'Father, forgive him.' The apostle John 
says, ' Whoso hateth his brother is a murderer, and 
ye know, that no murderer hath eternal life abiding 
in him.' 1 John iii. 15. This speaks of the present 
condition of the murderer — not his everlasting condi- 
tion. No murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 
Of course he has not, or he would not be a murderer. 
Eternal life is Christ-life, heaven-life ; a life of love to 
God, and good will toward man. A murderer is sel- 
fish, cruel, bloody, revengeful. A murderous charac- 
ter, and a christian character, cannot exist in one soul. 
But the murderer may reform. Paul was a persecu- 
tor, assisted in murdering Stephen of blessed mem- 
ory, but he reformed. Jesus on the cross prayed God 
to forgive his murderers." 

" But then suppose he dies a murderer, what will 
become of him ?" 

" If the murderer can reform before he dies, why 
not after he dies % Does reason, wisdom, goodness, 
the Bible say, that if a man leaves this world a sin- 
ner, he will be compelled to be a sinner eternally ? 
That is an assumption of Orthodoxy; but it never 
was proved, and never will be. Why does the Bible 
say, ' God will have all men to be saved,' if it is his 
purpose that all who leave this world sinners never 
shall be saved % Why does he call on all to repent, if 
he intends, that all who die impenitent never shall 
reform ? It is a dreadful thing to live or die a mur- 
derer; but the mercy of God can save him in this 
world, and that same mercy can save him in the 
future world." 



346 TWENTY-FIVE TEAES 

CHAPTEE XIX. 



Last Campaign — In Galesburg, III. — The United States Conven- 
tion — Lombard University — Other Schools — Journey to Missou- 
ri — In Macon City — In Brookfield — St. Joseph and other Cities 
— Groye Meeting — On the Missouri Bottom — Beautiful Country 
— Preach in Fillmore and Many Other Places — Returned Home 
— Anti-Orthodox Preaching — Funeral Sermons — Death — Life — 
Conclusion. 

My last long campaign was in Missouri and Illi- 
nois. Left Chicago, accompanied by Mrs. Manford, 
Tuesday night, September 16, 1866, and by sunrise 
the next morning we were in Galesburg, 111., one hun- 
dred and sixty miles southward. The United States 
Convention of Universalists was holding its annual 
session in that place, and we tarried till its close. 
Met many clergymen from the East and West I had 
not before seen ; and had the satisfaction of shaking 
hands with W. S. Balch, with whom I studied many 
years before, but had not beheld his face since I left 
his sanctum in Claremont, N. H., to come West. He 
is now pastor of the Universalist society in Galesburg. 
Years have changed the outer man, somewhat, but 
the inner man seems to be as vigorous, generous and 
brotherly as ever. Brother Balch has noble qualities 
of head and heart ; and he has ever been faithful and 
successful in his high calling. 

The Lombard University is located in Galesburg ; 
and although " University " is rather a big name for 
such an institution — the West is fond of high sound- 
ing names — it is an excellent school, and is doing a 
great work. It combines an academy and college ; its 
doors are open to both sexes, they having equal privi- 
leges. This is as it should be. The old custom of 
educating girls and boys apart is all wrong. They 



m THE WEST. 347 

learn faster together than if educated separately. A 
healthly rivalry is induced, ea^h Bex being anxious to 
secure the approbation of the otL« r . besides, associat- 
ing together, not less in the school-room than at home 
tends to refine and invigorate both sex*s. The prop- 
erty of this institution is one hundred tL^ US and dol- 
lars, and about as much more has recently v^ e n sub- 
scribed for its benefit. It is destined to exert % vas t 
influence in the West in favor of liberal principles. 

The denomination has several other excellent insti- 
tutions of learning in the United States. There is 
Tufts College, located in Medford, Mass., four miles 
from Boston. Its funds and real estate are worth 
eight hundred and five thousand dollars. It has a 
library embracing ten thousand volumes. In Canton, 
N. Y., we have two schools — the St. Lawrence Uni- 
versity, and Theological School. The University has 
property worth one hundred and four thousand dol- 
lars. We also have an academy in Clinton, ~N. Y., 
called the Clinton Liberal Institute. It has property 
amounting to fifty thousand dollars. We likewise 
have a school in Westbrook, Me., three miles from 
Portland. It is one of the best institutions in the 
state, and its permanent fund is thirty thousand dol- 
lars. The Green Mountain Institute is located in 
Woodstock, Yt. A fine farm, is connected with the 
school, and the average attendance is about one hun- 
dred. In Glover, Yt., the Orleans Liberal Institute 
is located. From seventy to one hundred pupils 
attend it, and its friends intend to increase its useful- 
ness. 

There are three other educational institutions being 
established by the denomination. One in Jefferson, 
Wis. It has so far progressed, that one term has been 
held. A fine academy building will soon be erected. 
In Barre, sixteen miles from Montpelier, the capital 
of Yermont, our brethren are establishing a school. 
Fifty thousand dollars have already been subscribed. 



348 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

In Franklin, Mass., a first class academy will soon be 
in operation. Dr. Dean, its founder, donated sixty 
thousand dollars, and the trustees have raised forty 
thousand more. A magnificent building is nearly 
finished on a beautiful site, with ample grounds. 

This is a pretty fair record for so young a denomi- 
nation as <? ars ; an( i au this has been accomplished in 
about tiirty-five years. But our work is only fairly 
beg}** m tne educational field. More schools must be 
e Jiblished ; and those already in operation must be 
strengthened, and their usefulness increased. Proper 
education improves the head and the heart, and quali- 
fies us to act with dignity and success our part on the 
stage of life. 

September 20th. Mrs. Manford returned to Chicago, 
and at 5 o'clock p. m., I took cars for Quincy, one 
hundred miles south ; and the next morning was 
steaming across the Missouri prairies to Macon City, 
sixty miles west of the great river. Most of the coun- 
try is prairie, high, dry and rolling, with good soil, 
but thinly settled. Saw large herds of cattle, horses, 
mules and sheep, feeding on the vast savannas. Lec- 
tured in Macon City. A good congregation would 
immediately be gathered here, if a minister could be 
obtained. Two lawyers, especially, expressed much 
anxiety for such an arrangement. Macon is at the 
crossing of the Hannibal and St. Joseph, and North 
Missouri railroads, and is bound to be an important 
town. 

September 22d. Eode to Brookfield, forty miles 
west. Crossed the dividing ridge between the Missis- 
sippi and Missouri rivers, two of the great rivers of 
the world. Most of the country is hilly, timber is 
plenty, and the soil middling. Brookfield is exactly 
midway between the two rivers. The railroad com- 
pany has its machine shops here, and the town is in a 
flourishing condition. The country around is beauti- 
ful and productive. It is a charming locality for a 



m THE WEST. 349 

homo. Rode into the country the next clay, Sunday, 
eight miles, and talked to the people ; returned in the 
afternoon, and lectured to a fair congregation. 

September 25th. Proceeded to CJhillicothe, forty 
miles toward the setting sun, and delivered my mes- 
sage. This is a fine town, and improving rapidly. 
We ought to have a church here, and could soon have 
one if proper effort was made. We always have large 
congregations here. I. M. Westfall, several years 
since, had a discussion in this place with a Methodist 
minister, and he made the dry bones shake. 

September 27th. Journeyed to St. Joseph, about 
seventy miles. This is the largest town in North 
Missouri. It is located on the east bank of the Mis- 
souri river ; has quite a city appearance ; the streets 
are paved, and the business houses are chiefly brick, 
and of a substantial character. This, and three other 
towns within seventy-five miles, are striving for the 
mastery — Kansas City, Leavenworth and Lawrence. 
Time only will determine which will win. But there 
is bound to be one large commercial center somewhere 
in this region. Which of the four will be that city % 
I refer to 1875 for an answer. 

September 28th. Rode to Savannah, thirteen miles 
northward, and lectured in the evening. R. K. Jones, 
an active and enterprising man, preaches here month- 
ly. Expect to spend three weeks traveling where 
there are no railroads ; and as I have no conveyance 
of my own, shall depend on a kind Providence, and 
good friends for transportation. 

September 29th. Rode horseback to Fillmore, ten 
miles; a sprightly boy went with me to lead the 
horse back ; and on the next day, Sunday, was con- 
veyed by a friend, to Mound City, eighteen miles, 
where I delivered a long discourse at eleven o'clock, 
in a beautiful grove, and in the evening spoke in a 
school-house, four miles distant. 

October 1st. Rode a borrowed horse twelve miles, 



350 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

and lectured at night. "Was sick two days from ex- 
cessive speaking. Met a woman who heard me in 
Ohio twenty-five years ago. Am now sixty miles 
above St. Joseph, on the Missouri river bottom. The 
soil is as rich as was that of the far-famed valley of 
Egypt. Most of the bottom is prairie, and the land 
dry, warm and easily tilled. It is a charming region 
— beautiful beyond description. A few miles west, 
the Missouri bluffs in Kansas and Nebraska are visi- 
ble. Although barely able to sit on the horse, I rode 
twelve miles. 

October 4th. . The ride did me good — am all right 
again. Went in a buggy to Oregon, twelve miles, 
and heard an excellent discourse by R. K. Jones. 
About one year previous, I delivered three discourses 
in this town, the first of the kind heard there, and 
they caused considerable excitement ; whereupon Mr. 
Smith, a Presbyterian clergyman, proposed debating, 
to which I consented. We settled the preliminaries ; 
but Mr. Smith's ardor for the discussion soon abated, 
and the subject was dropped. But another party is 
now trying to get up a discussion with me, and they 
are corresponding with Mr. Summerhill, of Cincin- 
nati, Ohio, a noted minister in his order, about engag- 
ing in it. 

October 5th. Went to Fillmore — rode part way, 
and walked part way — and lectured in the evening. 
A society will probably soon be organized here, as we 
have a goodly number of friends within a few miles 
of the place. At a previous visit to this town, a 
preacher replied to my discourse. There were sev- 
eral clergymen of different denominations present, 
and they delegated this one to be spokesman. But 
he yielded so much that his colleagues were disgusted 
and said, " he might as well have proclaimed himself 
a Universalist." 

October 7th. A friend conveyed me on Sunday 
morning, to Whitesville, eighteen miles, where I 



m THE WEST. 351 

spoke on that day twice. Here also a society could 
be formed. 

October 8th. A gentleman and lady took me in a 
buggy to Rochester, sixteen miles, where I spoke to a 
large congregation, but found only a few who sympa- 
thized with me. 

October 9th. A kind friend conveyed me to my 
next appointment, in Maysville, twenty-five miles 
eastward. He took his three boys with him, he said, 
that they might see the country for they were all 
recently from Ohio. Men and boys were delighted 
with the country we passed over, as well they might 
be, for it is a lovely land — high, rolling, rich prairie. 
A large number attended the meeting. Probably not 
a dozen present had before heard a discourse on the 
Restitution. I hope some good seed was sown, and, 
that it will germinate, bud, blossom, and yield a rich 
harvest. 

October 10th. Rode twenty-five miles to-day, and 
preached at night, and the next day. These were the 
first sermons on our faith ever heard in Gallatin. A 
Congregation alist minister gave notice that he should 
reply to them, two days subsequently. In a conver- 
sation with him he remarked, that his denomination 
were the " liberals of the evangelical school." They 
may be in the "West, but they certainly are not in the 
East. Their creed is cold, cruel, intolerant, Calvin- 
ism. There is not a particle of liberality or generosi- 
ty in it. It is as rigid as iron bars, and cold as ice- 
bergs. 

October 12th. Rode horseback sixteen miles, to 
Bancroft, and lectured. Although our liberal faith 
had not before been publicly .taught here, I found 
many friends. A large family by the name of Hen- 
dricks, all formerly Dunkards, reside here, and they 
are devoted believers in the Restitution. Most of that 
denomination, I have met with, agree with us in the 
final redemption of humanity, and they are generally 



352 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

truly christian people. Elhanan Winchester once 
said, " If God has a people on earth, it is the Dunk- 
ards." 

October 13th. A friend took me to Trenton, eight- 
een miles, where I delivered three sermons. They 
were the first of the kind in the town, or county, and 
large numbers attended. A preacher did his best to 
keep the people away, but he was nearly deserted, for 
the people were bound to hear the " new doctrine." 
I here met a man by the name of John Murray, who 
said he was a distant relative of the sainted Rev. John 
Murray. When I was in Iowa City recently, I found 
a man by the name of Winchester, who is a relative 
of Rev. Elhanan Winchester, of blessed memory. 
They have good blood in their veins. 

October 15th. Conveyed to Lindville, fifteen miles, 
and preached at night. The people here had not be- 
fore heard one of our faith. Some believed, and some 
disbelieved. 

October 16th. Rode fourteen miles on horseback, 
and walked six miles. Came to a stream where there 
was no bridge, and pulling off boots and socks, waded 
through, and passed on to fill my appointments. Lec- 
tured twice in this place, Milan, to full houses. 

October 18th. Went to Greencastle, fifteen miles, 
and lectured twice. There is a small society in this 
village, and two brother preachers are residing near 
by — W. Brise and G. S. Ayers. It is to be hoped 
they will hereafter devote more of their time to the 
ministry. 

October 20th. Lectured in Unionville twice, and 
once in the neighborhood ; and the next day was con- 
veyed by a friend to Lancaster, twenty miles still far- 
ther onward, where I also spoke twice. The next day, 
rode to Memphis, or rather rode and walked, twenty- 
five miles, where I spoke twice, and once in the coun- 
try. From thence was conveyed by a friend to Ben- 
tonsport, Iowa, where I took the cars and went home. 



IN THE WEST. 353 

I recently heard a discourse by one of our minis- 
ters, and he gave Orthodoxy an awful cudgeling. I 
do not like that kind of preaching. It is too much of 
the meat-axe order. The christian minister should 
preach the gospel in all its fulness — present it in its 
doctrinal, moral, and spiritual aspect. But cutting, 
slashing, and banging, at this creed, and that creed, 
at this sect and that sect, is not exactly preaching the 
gospel. It may be the minister's duty, now and then, 
under peculiar circumstances, to handle other creeds 
without gloves ; but let him remember and do his 
duty in this respect in a loving spirit. But there 
should be but little of this kind of controversial ser- 
monizing. Telling people of the beauty and glory 
of truth and virtue, and urging a practical knowledge 
of the same, is far better than to be fighting Ortho- 
doxy. It must be admitted, that some of the fathers 
of our denomination, in this respect, have set a bad 
example. They had too much of the Ishmaelite spir- 
it, and many of us have imbibed of it copiously. 
True, they were assailed by slander and falsehood, in 
private and in public, at home and abroad, when they 
went in, and when they went out ; and it required a 
copious infusion of the Divine Spirit to be perfect 
lambs under such circumstances. And our people in 
the West and South, especially the ministers, are still 
pursued with the same maliciousness, injustice and 
cruelty, and it requires remarkable good nature to be 
thus treated without striking back. But some of us 
have rather overdone this matter of "using up" Or- 
thodoxy. Not, it is to he hoped, that we have been 
actuated by the fiendish spirit of some of our ene- 
mies, but we spend too much precious time, and waste 
too much material, on their creeds. Better present 
the truth in its native beauty and grace, and the 
world will soon fall in love with it, and take it to it's 
heart. 

I had been at home but a few days, when I was 



354 TWENTY-FIYE YEAES 

called to the southern part of Illinois, to deliver two 
funeral discourses. One of them was on the occasion 
of the death of Mrs. Middleworth, an estimable wo- 
man, cut down in the vigor of womanhood, and in the 
midst of usefulness. A large number attended the 
service ; some came as far as fifteen miles. Surely, 
if ever we need consolation, it is when death enters 
our abode, and snatches therefrom a dear friend. Sen- 
sitive ties are then severed, and affection's nerves re- 
ceive a dreadful shock. The death of a friend is like 
an untimely frost on an orange grove ; it may indeed 
kill but one, but it blights the whole grove. But 
death is no new thing under the sun. For six thou- 
sand years mankind have been dying. It is estimated 
that sixty persons die every minute. Every hour in 
the day, week, month, year, century, thousands of 
human beings breathe their last breath, and heave 
their last sigh. All over the world are dying scenes, 
and funeral scenes. An army of the living are em- 
ployed to bury an army of the dead. And this sad 
work has been going on for sixty centuries. 

How true are the words of the wise man : " One 
generation passeth away, and another generation com- 
eth." Death and the grave are never satisfied. The 
high and the low, the old and the young, the saint 
and the sinner, must alike be prostrated in death 
when the king of terror hurls his unerring dart. As 
ocean wave succeeds wave, so generation of men suc- 
ceed generation, and each in its turn is borne to, and 
dashes and dies upon the fearful shore of time. Every 
thing on earth speaks of mutation and death. The 
lofty marble monument, erected to commemorate hu- 
man genius ; the stately palace of wealth, pomp and 
greatness, are being crumbled to dust by the busy and 
untiring hand of time. Saith the Bible, " All flesh is 
grass." As the grass withereth, and the flower fad- 
eth, so with mortal man. The decree has gone forth 
from the court of heaven, and cannot be revoked, 



EST THE WEST. 355 

"Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." 
No appeal is admitted ; no reversal of the judgment 
need be expected. Die we all must! But how little 
is this dreadful fact realized by many ! How many 
spend life as if they believed it would never end ! 
To the accumulation of earthly treasures, or the ad- 
vancement of ambitious schemes, multitudes devote 
all their energy, all their talent, all their precious 
time. Unwise men ! God made us for more noble 
pursuits ; and he who devotes all of life's blessed mo- 
ments to the accumulation of earth's perishable treas- 
ures, answers not to*" the end of his being, is not a 
friend to himself, but rather his own greatest enemy. 
But when the decrees of the Almighty shall be 
executed ; when dust shall have returned to dust, and 
ashes to ashes, shall we be no more forever ? Will 
death never yield his prey ? Shall we share the fate 
of the beetle and the worm \ "Will the tender ties of 
love and affection, which are severed by the cold hand 
of death, with weeping eyes and bleeding heart, never 
be reunited % And when we consign our dear friends 
to the grave, shall we never more behold them ? Nev- 
er more enjoy their society, which society made a 
heaven of earth? And when we shall bid "farewell 
to earth, and close our eyes in death, shall we be an- 
nihilated % Some there are, who answer these impor- 
tant questions in the affirmative. Some there are, 
who tell us, that death is an eternal sleep, that the 
grave and the worm will devour our all ; that we are 
like the bubble on the wide ocean, seen for a moment, 
and then disappear to be known no more forever. 
But thank God, we have reason to hope for better 
things. We have reason to hope that there is a life 
beyond this life, a world beyond this world, where 
friends will meet, where the great family of God will 
meet, to part no more ; that on the blissful plains of 
immortality, the severed links of humanity will be 
welded in an immortal chain, never more to be severed. 



356 TWENTY-FIYE YEARS 

While in the neighborhood where this service was 
held, 1 delivered two other discourses, to great congre- 
gations. From thence I went to Dudley, and delivered 
another funeral discourse, on the occasion of the death 
of Mrs. Sutherland, a devoted believer in our most 
holy faith, and an excellent woman. It is sometimes 
said by the opposers of the Great Salvation, that it is 
good to live by, but not to die by. But it seems to 
me, that what 'is good to live by, must be good to die 
by, for what prepares us to live, prepares us to die. 
When the opposer tells me, that my religion " is good 
to live by," I thank him for «uch testimony in its 
favor; but I cannot return the compliment, cannot 
admit that his creed, let it be what it may, if it denies 
the essential features of the Restitution, " is good to 
live by." Is Atheism, which denies a God, and 
orphanizes the world, " good to live by ?" Is Deism, 
that denies a Savior, and doubts an hereafter, " good 
to live by ?" Is Partialism, that represents God as 
cruel, revengeful and unjust ; as loving some and hat- 
ing others ; blessing some and cursing others, world 
without end, "good to live by?" Men can live with 
such creeds in their heads, as they can live on horse 
ham affa mule stake ; but it is living at a poor dying 
rate. 

But then, this faith so full of grace "is not good to 
die by." But why not ? It represents God as a uni- 
versal Father, Christ a universal Savior, and heaven 
the home to which all are tending. Is not faith in 
such a God, such a Savior, and such a Destiny, good 
in the hour of death ? The truth is, nothing but this 
can afford peace and consolation in that dark and sol- 
emn hour. Atheism, Deism, Partialism, are found 
wanting in man's dying moments, as when in the pos- 
session^ health and vigor. - True, many close their 
eyes in death with blissful hopes, who do not accept 
the faith of God's Universal Grace, and for this reason 
— in their dying hour they gaze entirely on the bright 



IN THE WEST. 357 

side of their creed, for it has a bright side as well as 
a dark side. They think they can read their " title 
clear to mansions in the skies," hence depart in peace. 
But if they looked for an instant on the dark side of 
their faith ; if they considered that they may be mis- 
taken with regard to their own salvation, and instead 
of going to heaven may go to hell. And then, around 
their dying couch are their near and dear friends; 
and for aught they know, all of them in a few years 
will be lifting up their eyes in eternal torment, and 
begging for a drop of water to cool their flaming 
tongues — if the dying deemed this possible, and it is 
possible if Orthodoxy is true, would not the thought 
turn joy into the bitterest' sorrow, and songs of praise 
into howls of despair ? But the truth is adapted to 
all stages and conditions of humanity. It is our coun- 
selor, guide, and hope, in the strength and vigor of 
manhood ; our staff in sickness and old age ; our all 
when our eyes are closing in death, and the grave is 
opening at our feet. 

After speaking in five other places in the south part 
of the state, I returned home ; and had been there 
but two days, when a telegraphic despatch summoned 
me to attend the funeral of Mrs. Jameson, in Mar- 
shall county, 111., over one hundred miles distant. 
When turning away from her grave, her husband 
remarked : " There is buried one of the best women 
that ever lived." That is the best eulogy that can be 
pronounced over the grave of the dead. The depart- 
ed suffered for months, by day and by night, the most 
excruciating physical agony, but not a murmur drop- 
ped from her lips. She knew that sickness was unto 
death, and she welcomed the approach of the angel 
of deliverance. A good life and a christian faith, are 
blessed friends in the sunset of life. As I am writing 
about the last page of this book, a letter, with a black 
border, from a woman in Missouri is received, an- 
nouncing the death of her husband, and requesting 



358 TWENTY-FIVE YEAES 

me to attend his funeral. It was his desire, she 
writes, that I should do so, and I must respect his 
dying wish. 

The common view of death, I am satisfied, is too 
dark and gloomy. When we look upon the cold 
and rigid form, the closed eyes and pale brow, of the 
dead, a sense of gloom, and a vague feeling of fear 
comes over us; but we should remember, that the 
being that lately animated that now lifeless body, is a 
resident of the " house not made with hands, eternal 
in the heavens." But we are oppressed too much by 
what we see, and have not faith enough in the reality 
of a life in heaven. And hence it is, that in the 
chamber of death, at the time of the Holy Passover, 
bitter sobbings are heard, in the place of song of 
rejoicing; and hence it is that the coffin, our second, 
cradle, is followed to the grave by those who are 
arrayed in gloomy habiliments expressive of grief and 
sorrow. To those who have passed into the house of 
" many mansions," death must appear in a very differ- 
ent light. The two grand eras in our life below, its 
beginning and its close, birth and death, must be view- 
ed by them as really beautiful and equally divine. The 
departed know by experience what death is. They 
have tasted the cup, and know that it contains, not a 
poisonous draught, but the wine of life. They know 
that this is a world of shadows, not the world above. 

When the hour of death arrives, the couch of the 
dying is surrounded by invisible friends, as by those 
who still abide in the flesh. ; and one hand of the dy- 
ing is held by those to whom he is now to bid adieu ; 
and the other is taken by those whom the eye of flesh 
can no longer see. " On the one side, there is weep- 
ing and almost despair; on the other, the joyful hymn 
of welcome. Surely tears are a relief to men in this 
mortal state ; and I would not even seem to say that 
they are wrong. I say only this, that the occasion of 
our most intense grief, would be no occasion of grief, 



IN TILE WEST. 359 

were death understood by us as it is by those who 
know by experience — by that holy experience — ■ 
what it is. Were we able to follow, with open eyes, 
those who are dear to us, as they pass away, and see 
them as they are in the Better Land, and know how 
they are surrounded and employed, we should not 
mourn as we now do when friends depart, nor should 
we feel any temptation thus to mourn, and the fear of 
death would be wholly unknown to us." 

This, I believe, to be the correct view of death ; 
and its general prevalence would dispel the gloom that 
now hangs over the grave, and save the world many 
tears and griefs. The day will come when the inhab- 
itants of the earth, having a proper estimate of death, 
and the hereafter, will wonder that we regarded death 
with th$ gloomy apprehension we do. When that 
day blesses the world, there will be no more death, as 
most of mankind now regard it. 

To conclude: I have innumerable reasons to be 
grateful to Almighty God, that I have lived so long, 
enjoyed almost uninterrupted good health, had so 
many friends, and been permitted to labor in the gos- 
pel ministry. Truly, the Lord has blessed me all the 
days of my life. I have never had but two spells of 
sickness, and they were induced by hard labor in hot 
weather. Notwithstanding my extensive traveling,! 
have never met with the slightest accident, and I 
have journeyed by sea and land, in sailing vessels and 
steamboats, on railroads and on horseback, in stages, 
and in wagons of all descriptions. Have traveled in 
dangerous localities by day and by night, but a pen- 
knife is the largest weapon I ever carried. One more 
personal remark — I never snuffed, chewed, or smok- 
ed tobacco ; neither did I ever poison my body or my 
soul with a glass of liquor — do not know whisky from 
brandy, and do not covet the knowledge. 



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